Finding True Love
by T'Lai
Summary: Anna is finding that love isn't as easy as she thought. Just when she's feeling the most confused about Kristoff, a letter arrives from Hans. Now she's not sure what's true, much less what's true love. Companion Piece to "Letter of Apology". Eventual HansxAnna
1. Annoyances

**/* Author's Note - I've edited this chapter to flesh out Elsa and add Olaf. After all, he would be around the castle somewhere! */**

Anna knew that Elsa would find her. She hadn't entirely done it on purpose, but leaving the ball room and balcony doors cracked open ensured that Elsa would investigate when she did her evening walk through the castle after she was done with her duties for the day. Anna had only been sitting on the railing for half an hour when she saw the door open wider in her peripheral vision. Disappointingly, it wasn't Elsa.

"Hi Anna!" said Olaf's bright and cheerful voice. Anna sighed, she wasn't in the mood for Olaf. Seeming not to notice, Olaf bounced across the balcony and jumped up to sit on the railing. He wiggled his feet back and forth, "So… how's it going?" he asked.

"Not now Olaf," said Anna looking away, "I'm waiting for Elsa."

"Oh," said Olaf sadly. He brightened, "I could wait with you!"

"No thank you," said Anna, trying hard to be polite. She really wanted to be left alone, but Olaf didn't show any signs of leaving. "Why don't you go find Marshmallow?" she suggested.

Olaf jumped down excitedly, "Oooh! That's a great idea! I bet he'd love play with me!"

Anna couldn't help but smile slightly: Olaf reminded her forcibly of herself when she was younger. She watched him skip back through the door and her smile faded, she really hoped Elsa's meeting would be over soon.

The sun had started to set when Anna heard Elsa's voice from the ballroom, "Anna? Are you in here?" Elsa's footsteps echoed as she crossed the room and pushed the balcony door open wide, "What are you doing out here? Is everything alright?"

Anna sighed, "I was hoping you would come out after your advisor meeting. Can we talk?"

Elsa crossed the balcony to stand beside Anna. Her concern for Anna was clearly expressed on her face, "Of course. What's on your mind?"

"It's Kristoff," said Anna. She turned to look out over the castle grounds. The water fountains were still frozen into beautiful statues from earlier in the day. Anna followed the gentle curves of the statues with her eyes, admiring their graceful sweep. Elsa waited patiently without saying anything. Finally, knowing she couldn't continue to delay talking about it, Anna turned back to Elsa and met her eyes, "He's really been getting on my nerves."

"Has he been taking advantage of your clumsiness again?" Elsa teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Anna threw her hands up in exasperation, "It's not funny Elsa!"

Elsa was instantly contrite. She sat on the railing facing Anna and reached out to squeeze her hand, "I'm sorry Anna. What has he been doing?"

"While, there's Sven. Don't get me wrong, he's an incredibly smart and friendly reindeer, but Kristoff can't seem to go two minutes without seeing him. And the sharing carrots that they always do – It's disgusting." Anna pulled her hand away from Elsa, jumped down from the railing and started to pace, "And speaking of disgusting, did I ever tell you what he said when we first met?"

Elsa tried to suppress her smile, "You've told me many things that he's said. Which one?"

Anna pivoted sharply on her heel and stopped pacing, "About guys and nose picking? He said all men do it, and _eat_ it." She threw her hands out to her sides, "I thought he was trying to make a point. Wow was I wrong!" Anna accentuated her words with her hands, "He _meant_ it. He _does _it. Yuck!" She shivered in revulsion.

Elsa's brow furrowed, "Is that all?" she asked.

Anna looked at Elsa in disbelief, "Is that all? Isn't that enough?" she turned away and walked back to the railing which she clenched in frustration, "But no, that's not all. He's awkward in public, I used to think it was cute, but I love being out among people, and he can't stand it. He never wants to walk through Arendelle, he always wants to go out into the forrest or the mountains to get away from 'the noise'. I feel like we don't have a single thing in common."

Anna was tensed and gripping the railing so hard that her hands were turning white. She jumped when Elsa came up behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. After a stiff moment, she relaxed and leaned on her sister's shoulder. "Have you tried talking to him?" Elsa asked. She took Anna by the shoulders and turned her so they were face to face, "I'm not saying that you shouldn't be bothered by those things, but they really are minor. If they bother you that much, then you need to deal with it with Kristoff. I'm sure he'll listen to you."

Anna turned away again and slumped in defeat, "Or maybe I was just crazy to think that we would get along. Maybe it's Hans all over again and I just don't know Kristoff at all."

Elsa flinched at the mention of Hans, but kept her voice steady when she replied, "Of course you don't know Kristoff that well, you've only known each other for a year now." She nudged Anna and gave her a sidelong look, "You and I still don't know everything about each other and we at least had our early childhood together."

Anna finally smiled, "That's true. Like last week when you came into the gallery and I was talking to Joan. I don't think you saw that one coming, but really, who else was I supposed to talk to for all those years?" They laughed and Anna felt her mood lighten a bit. Then she scowled, "But a year is a long time."

Elsa squeezed Anna's waist and spoke gently, "Not really. Between Kristoff's ice cutting expeditions and your royal training, you haven't spent that much time together. Talk to Kristoff Anna. You have all the time in the world now, and you don't have to choose the first person that you met once the gate was opened. There's no hurry. Make sure that you can work together and be happy."

Anna turned and hugged Elsa tightly, "Thank you Elsa. You're right. I'll talk to him tomorrow."


	2. Talking

"Kristoff!" Anna called as she wove through the crowd. Kristoff was unloading the last of a shipment of ice from his sled. He looked up and smiled timidly as Anna made her way towards him. She burst through the last people and threw her arms around him, he hugged her back awkwardly.

"I'm so glad that you're back! Can we go out today?"Anna asked.

Kirstoff laughed, "I just finished unloading my ice. I'm kind of tired."

"That's alright," Anna said as she climbed up into his sled, "I'll drive, you can just relax."

Kristoff quickly climbed up beside her and took away the reins, "No thanks, I'll drive. Let's go Sven."

Anna frowned and added another note to her list of things to talk to Kristoff about: his overprotectiveness of Sven and his sled.

Sven plodded out of the city at an agonizingly slow pace. Anna was sure she could have pulled the sled faster, though she tried to hide her impatience. Obviously she didn't do a very good job.

"Would you sit still?" snapped Kristoff, "We've had a long trip."

Anna was instantly contrite, "You're right Kristoff," she said, "I really shouldn't have bothered you right now. I'll tell you what, why don't you go and have a nice rest and come find me later when you feel better?" Before he could protest, Anna scooted across the seat and jumped out of the sled onto the grass.

"Anna I didn't mean it like that," Kristoff protested, "Of course we can talk. I'm sorry." He pulled Sven to a stop and climbed down to stand beside it, "Come on back up."

Anna was already walking along the road back into the city, "No, I wasn't thinking. We can talk later." She waved, "Bye Kristoff! Bye Sven!"

Kristoff sighed in frustration. Anna peeked back over her shoulder to see what he was doing, but he continued to stand by his sled and watch her walk away. She felt a brief pang that he wasn't coming after her, but quickly pushed it away as unfair before quickening her pace to get back to the castle.

It was late afternoon and Anna was wandering through the castle grounds when Kristoff returned. For once, Sven didn't seem to be with him. Then Anna saw a glimpse of movement near the kitchen gardens and turned to see Sven disappear inside, no doubt looking for carrots.

She turned back to see Kristoff smiling and looking much more relaxed than that morning. "Hi Anna," he said, "Sorry it's so late. I was exhausted."

"That's all right," said Anna, "Do you want to sit or walk?" she gestured towards a nearby fountain with a wide bench running around it.

"Let's sit," said Kristoff, "I'm still a bit sore."

Anna sat down beside Kristoff. There was silence for a few minutes, broken only by the soft splashing of the water behind them and an approaching sound of crunching carrots. When Kristoff reached out to touch Anna's hand, she shifted away. Another few moments passed, then she leapt to her feet abruptly and started pacing in front of him.

"Here's the thing," Anna said, "I need to talk to you about some things that are bothering me. I have been thinking about this for days, and then Elsa came and wanted to know why I was being so quiet, so I told her, and then she said that I needed to stop thinking about it and talk to you if it was so important, so I really couldn't wait and came down to meet you this morning when you got back, but then you were really tired and I knew that this was much too important to try to discuss when you were tired and wouldn't really be listening, so I said I could wait, but then I came out here and I've just been thinking about it all day and now I think I'm going to go crazy if I can't just tell you what I've been thinking about, so–"

Kristoff stood up and grabbed Anna by the arms to stop her, "Whoa! Slow down! I can see that this is important to you, so why don't you sit down and start from the beginning?" He guided her back down onto the bench and sat sideways so that he could face her.

Anna took a couple of deep breaths and plunged straight in, "There's just these things that have been bothering me. I know you didn't really have any parents, or a house, or friends, or anything, but it's been almost a year now and you still don't seem to care about how you look to other people. I mean, I know there's more important things than what other people think, but you could at least consider it. You always wear the same thing. I gave you some nice clothes that you could wear for parties, but you never do. You don't even come most of the time. And I never see you without Sven."

"Now that's not fair," Kristoff interrupted, "He's not here right now."

Anna raised her eyebrow and looked pointed over Kristoff's shoulder. He turned to see Sven standing there with a carrot sticking out of his mouth which he waved towards Kristoff. Kristoff reached out and snapped it off, "Thanks buddy," he said before taking a bite.

Anna jumped up again, "Ew! And that's just unsanitary! The only thing worse is when I found out that you really do pick your nose and eat it. It's disgusting!" She waved her arms dramatically and stepped back.

Kristoff and Sven stared at her with identical expressions of shock. "It's not that bad," Kristoff protested, "And I told you, all men do it."

"No Kristoff," Anna said firmly, "Not all men do it. Just you. None of the castle staff pick their noses. My father never picked his nose. The traders and seamen don't pick their noses. Just. You." She made a chopping motion with her hand to accentuate her words.

"While you're not perfect either," said Kristoff.

"This isn't a competition!" interrupted Anna, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation, "I go out into the mountains with you to cut ice. It is lonely and boring, but I do it for you. You never come to balls or parties for me. And the carrots and nose picking? I don't want to kiss Sven, it's not him I like!" she turned to Sven, "Sorry Sven, I do like you, just not that way." Anna turned back to Kristoff, "And I _definitly_ don't want anything that comes out of your nose!"

"Well if who I am bothers you that much maybe I should just go back into the mountains and stay out of your way," said Kristoff. He stood and walked towards Sven, "Come on Sven, let's go."

"Kristoff wait!" called Anna. She walked up behind him and laid her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off, "I'm not saying I want you to leave, but can't we talk about this?"

Kristoff spun around so quickly that Anna stumbled backwards. "Then can we talk about the fact that I hate crowds? And fancy clothes? And being cooped up in a city all the time? I spend a lot of time in Arendelle so I can see you. I don't want to be part of a royal party or castle."

"So what?" Anna said, stung, "I'm supposed to ignore the fact that I'm a princess? Elsa has been teaching me about ruling. I am the heir right now and I have responsibilities. Should I ignore those and leave the people of Arendelle to themselves?"

"Maybe you should," said Kristoff, "Why do they need a ruler?"

Anna was shocked into silence for a moment. She shook her head to clear it before answering, "Why? How about to maintain order and enforce laws? To judge disputes? To manage trades? To make sure that everyone has enough to live?"

Kristoff sighed is resignation, "You're right Anna." He turned away and jumped up onto Sven's back, "I think I should go now."

Anna backed down, "Kristoff, please don't."

Kristoff shook his head, "I need to. We both need to do some thinking. Maybe this isn't going to work."

Anna watched helplessly as Kristoff rode towards the gate. Frustrated and not knowing what else to do, she let out an strangled scream and stomped her foot before turning and running into the castle.


	3. The Letter

**/* Author Note - This chapter is where my other story "Letter of Apology" fits into this one. You will want to go read it before the next chapter. */**

Anna was roaming the halls aimlessly when Kai caught up to her. "My lady," he bowed, holding out a letter, "This arrived for you this morning."

Anna reached out to take it. It was addressed to her in elegant script, but there was no seal in the wax and she didn't recognize the writing. "Where did it come from?" she asked.

"I don't know my lady," Kai replied, "But it arrived with a trade ship from the south."

Anna dismissed him and turned away, examining the letter when a slight cough made her stop and look back to Kai. "If I may my lady," Kai began hesitantly, "I never expected the events around your sister's coronation to end as they did." At her questioning look, Kai continued, "I happened to be down near the dock when you first encountered Prince Hans." Anna stiffened at his name but said nothing. "After you returned to the castle his horse let go of the boat and he fell into the fjord. When he came up, the smile on his face is one I have seen many times, and it has only been on those who were truly smitten."

She furrowed her brow, "Smitten?"

"Either in love, or well on their way to being so," Kai clarified.

Anna hunched her shoulders, "Well. Then I guess we were both wrong."

Kai bowed again, "Indeed my lady. My apologies for bothering you with that. The southern trading ship reminded me of the incident."

Anna waved it off, "Don't worry about it."

An hour later, Anna was sitting on her bed, the letter in front of her and looking more crumpled than when first delivered. She had read it so many times that she knew most of the content by heart, each time evoking a different response. At first, she was angry and incredulous. She had crumpled it up and thrown it across her room. Then she had starting thinking about what Kai had said and gone to retrieve it. Her second read left her as incredulous as the first, but not angry. After a few more perusals of the letter and some thinking, Anna's mind was filled with doubts. Everything in Hans' letter was completely plausible. And not particularly difficult to believe either. At the same time, her pervious opinion that he was an extremely skilled manipulator could also explain the entire letter.

Anna abruptly stood up. The letter flew off her bed and she reached out to snatch it back. She couldn't leave this unresolved. Anna needed to know the truth, and she could only think of one way to find out. The trouble was that she knew Elsa would never let her go.


	4. Permission

"Absolutely not," said Elsa. She had immediately jumped to her feet when Anna had entered the room and made her request. Little trails of ice spread out around her feet, betraying her distress. Anna knew instantly how big of an shock this was: Elsa had developed complete control over her powers over the last year and had not created any involuntary ice in nearly ten months.

"Elsa, I understand. He nearly killed both of us," Anna said, "But I have to know if this is real."

Elsa turned away and hugged her arms to herself, "And how to do you intend to find out? Either he's telling the truth, or he's so good a manipulator that you're going to think that he is. How will you know the difference?" Elsa didn't wait for an answer, "No Anna, you can't go to the Southern Isles."

Anna shifted her weight back and forth between her feet anxiously. "Would you read the letter? Please?"

Elsa turned back to Anna, her mouth open to say 'no', but on meeting Anna's pleading eyes she hesitated. She took a deep breath and held out a slightly shaking hand, "Alright."

Anna handed the letter over with some apprehension, unsure if Elsa would tear it up. She mentally shook herself, of course her sister wouldn't do that to her! Why would she even think such a thing? Anna watched Elsa's eyes read through the letter, looking for any reaction. When she reached the end, Elsa placed the letter gingerly down on the table and stared past it. Finally she looked back towards Anna and refocused her eyes on her sister, "Who told you about the act of true love?"

It only took a moment for Anna to understand what Elsa was referring to, "The trolls. They said that the heart was much harder to change and it could only be done by an act of true love."

Elsa glanced back down towards the letter, "What Ha–" she paused, evidently unwilling to say his name, "_he_ says about love is true. It should be selfless. Did the trolls tell you a kiss would change your heart?"

Anna nodded, "Yes they said 'True love's kiss'…" Anna interrupted herself, "Wait, I think it was a different troll that said that."

Elsa look Anna squarely in the eyes, "Then that's where you start." The tendrils of ice were melting as Elsa regained control, "You go and ask the trolls about it first. If they confirm what Ha– what _he_ has written, we'll talk about it. If not, you'll let it go and burn this letter."

Anna snatched up the letter quickly, almost afraid Elsa would burn it immediately, "Deal."


	5. Travelling

**/* Author's Note - Thank you for the reviews, favs, & follows! It's good to know people are enjoying my story. And no, I don't own the characters, just the plot.*/**

It had been far too late in the day to start out into the forrest to find the trolls, and Anna wasn't sure she could find them without Kristoff's help. Between their fight of the day before and the reason that she wanted to she the trolls, Anna would have much preferred to leave Kristoff out of it, but that wasn't an option. So the next day, before the sun rose, Anna was out in the village square, waiting quietly for Kristoff to arrive. She had worn a dark green cloak to be less conspicuous and kept her hood up to hide her telltale red hair.

There was a good chance that Kristoff wouldn't come into Arendelle that day, he had just dropped off a load of ice and usually took a couple of days to recover before going out to get more. And, as he'd pointedly reminded her the day before, Kristoff did not enjoy being surrounded by large groups of people.

Anna waited uncharacteristically patiently as the sun rose above the fjord. Soon the market was full of the buzz of people out buying and selling goods, but there was still no sign of Kristoff. She was about to give up and try again tomorrow when she saw a reindeer at the far end of the market.

Between the warming spring day and the crowd she squeezed though, it was starting to become uncomfortably warm under Anna's hood, but she refused to take it off as she was still unwilling to be recognized. When she reached the far side of the press she was sweating, but sure enough, it was Sven. Kristoff stood nearby, haggling over some carrots, a fresh coil of rope slung on his shoulder.

Anna waited in an adjacent stall, pretending to peruse some fresh fruits. When he finished, Kristoff took Sven's halter and led him out of the packed square. Anna followed at a distance. When they arrived at Kristoff's sled, Anna sped up and stumbled. She fell awkwardly and Kristoff jumped and spun around.

"Anna?" Kristoff said as he rushed to help her up, "Are you all right? Where you looking for me?"

Anna pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself off before he could reach her. Her face was flushed when she looked up at Kristoff. "Can you give me a ride?"

"A ride?" Kristoff asked, "Where to?"

Anna fidgeted with the edge of her cloak and wouldn't meet his eyes as she answered, "To see the trolls."

Kristoff ran his hand through his shaggy hair, "Well sure, but why?"

Pulling her hood back up to hide her hair and flaming face, Anna replied, "I'd rather not talk about it. I'll find another way. I'm sorry to bother you." She turned to walk away, but Kristoff reached out to stop her.

His hand brushed the edge of her sleeve and she flinched, he dropped it, "Of course I'll take you. Climb up." He offered her a hand up into his sled, but Anna climbed up without touching him and sat stiffly on the far edge of the bench. Kristoff climbed up beside her and snapped the reins lightly. Sven started up the road, glancing back over his shoulder at Kristoff and Anna.

A long and uncomfortable silence filled the air as they rode. Finally, Sven stopped and turned to look Kristoff directly in the eye. Kristoff looked away, "Stop it Sven. Would you just keep going?" Sven shook his head and snorted. Anna looked at Kristoff questioningly, and he sighed, "Sven wants us to talk and says he's not going to go any further until we do."

Anna jumped down and walked around to the front of the sled to look Sven in the eyes. "Thanks Sven, I know you're just trying to help, but now really isn't the right time. Please, I _need_ to talk to the trolls." Sven rolled his eyes at her and she glanced at Kristoff for a translation.

"_That's just an excuse," _Kristoff said in his Sven voice, "_I'll take you to the trolls, but you might as well talk while we're driving. You shouldn't let problems fester._"

Anna half-smiled as she reached out to scratch Sven's chin, "You're very sweet Sven. I'll try alright? But you'll have to convince Kristoff." She walked back around the sled and watched as Sven turned to look at Kristoff.

Kristoff threw up his hands in defeat, "Fine, fine! I'll talk."

Anna pretended not to see his offered hand as she climbed back into the sled and resumed her stiff posture. Sven starting walking again, and for a minute it seemed as though they still weren't going to start talking. Finally Kristoff gave in and spoke first, "I'm sorry about yesterday Anna," he said, "I over reacted. It really has been a long of couple days." He rotated his shoulders and arched his back, clearly still trying to work out some stiffness from ice cutting.

Anna stared straight ahead and her voice was strangely detached when she answered, "It's alright. I should have a found a better way to talk about what was bothering me. I probably should have said something a lot sooner."

When nothing else was forthcoming, Kristoff tried again, "So what do you think we should do?"

Anna shrugged, "I don't know. Love isn't what I thought it was. I don't really think true love exists."

Kristoff dropped the reins and turned to stare at her, fortunately Sven didn't need his guidance to find the way, "What? That doesn't sound like you at all! What happened Anna?" Panic clearly marked his features.

Anna barely noticed and didn't react to Kristoff's distress except to huff impatiently, "It was a naive romantic notion of a child who had never been in the real world. I'm not saying love doesn't exist, but there being two people who are truly meant for each other?" she shook her head decisively, "I don't believe that anymore."

Kristoff reached out pointlessly, "I know we had a fight yesterday and that this has been bothering you for a while, but that doesn't mean that I don't love you–"

Anna seemed to finally wake up and been fully focused on their conversation. She turned to look at Kristoff with an incredibly sad expression, "Oh Kristoff, this isn't just about you. There's so much more to it, and I just can't talk to you about it."

Swallowing hard, Kristoff asked, "Is there someone else?"

"Not exactly," Anna flushed and looked away. "I'm sorry Kristoff, I know this isn't fair to you, but I need to sort some things out in my own head right now." She watched him in her peripheral vision as he picked up the reins again. They drove the rest of the way in silence.


	6. Trolls

**/* Author's Note - Thanks for the reviews! For the Guest that asked, no this won't be Elsa x Kristoff. My arguments against Anna x Kristoff apply just as much to Elsa. I also don't think that would be true to either character as originally portrayed. Elsa is strong, independent, and happy as she is. As for Kristoff, he needs someone more suited to his lifestyle. Wilderness ice cutter and royalty responsible for a kingdom full of people just isn't a good mix IMO.**

**As for the Trolls, no, I don't hate them. But there has to be a scapegoat / catalyst for the original issues, and since I've turned Hans into a 'good guy', the trolls had to take the fall. Besides, I really do think they caused at least as many problems as they solved in the movie. And were interfering busybodies. Especially Bulda. At least Pabbie meant well. I'm done now. */**

The trolls' clearing looked very different from the last time Anna had seen it. She hadn't returned since the day she first met them. This time, spring was in full bloom and there was no snow covering from an eternal winter. It was also the middle of the day. The sun shone brightly down onto the moss covered boulders. Or what appeared to be moss covered boulders. No sooner had Anna and Kristoff dismounted from the sled when the 'boulders' sprang open and the trolls swarmed them.

"Kristoff! You're back!" called Bulda his adoptive mother. Anna watched as the matronly troll jumped up and Kristoff caught her by reflex. He then nearly dropped her. Anna stifled a giggle. "And you brought back that girl! Are you married yet?" Anna's smile fell off and she flushed in embarrassment.

Kristoff quickly redirected the conversation, "Where's grandpa?" he asked.

"Always wanting Pabbie," complained Bulda, "Aren't you glad to see me?"

Kristoff lowered himself to one knee to put her down, "Of course I am, but Anna needs to ask grandpa some questions."

The other trolls made a path for Pabbie to come through, "You have questions your highness?" he asked.

The trolls cleared a path for Anna as well and she sat down on the ground in front of Pabbie. "I need to ask some things about the last time I was here," she said. When Pabbie nodded for her to continue, she took a deep breath, "You said that true love's kiss would change a frozen heart and save me, was that true?"

Pabbie shook his head, "I never said that true love's kiss would change a frozen heart," he said, "Only that an act of true love would."

"Wait, what?" said Anna in confusion, "But I remember–"

"I said that dearie," said Bulda.

"But it wan't true?"

Pabbie shook his head, "No. A kiss, no matter how true the love behind it would never have saved you."

Anna was shocked into silence for a moment. She stared into the woods. _So Hans was telling the truth. At least about the kiss, _she corrected herself, _but how did he know?_

"Was that all child?" asked Pabbie.

Anna shook her head and refocused on the troll in front of her, "Why didn't you tell me? I went looking for the wrong thing. I could have died!" _I might not have lost Hans! Wait. I was lucky to find out the truth before he could hurt Elsa! Unless that was the lie. I'm so confused!_

Pabbie sighed, "I'm sorry for that, but I could not have explained. An act of true love had to be performed by yourself. And for an act to be true love, it must be selfless. Had I explained this to you, I would have also rendered it nearly impossible for you to complete a qualifying act. It is difficult to be selfless when you are only thinking about saving yourself from death."

"Hans was telling the truth!" Anna exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. The trolls all started back in surprise and Kristoff flinched and turned to look at her. "He knew a kiss wouldn't work, so of course he wouldn't want to kiss me. I thought it would work, so then I would have been second guessing if he loved me or if I loved him!"

Kristoff stood and walked towards Anna angrily, "Hans? You mean that piece of scum that locked you in a room to die so that he could try to steal Arendelle?"

Anna gave Kristoff a disapproving look, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I see," said Kristoff sarcastically, "He didn't lock you in a room to die?"

"Well yes, but–"

Kristoff threw his hands into the air, "How can there be a 'but' attached to that statement? _He left you to die!_"

"Because he couldn't save me! _I_ needed to do an act of true love, not him. What was he supposed to do?" Anna snapped.

"Uh, how about try to help you?" said Kristoff, "Instead of taking advantage of you?"

Suddenly, Anna became aware of Bulda hiding behind Kristoff and looking guilty. "Wait, what were you talking to Bulda about?"

Kristoff instantly backed off and a guarded look came into his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Her suspicions solidifying, Anna closed in, "After she admitted that she was the one who said a kiss would save me, you started talking to her and now she looks guilty. What did she say?"

"It doesn't matter," said Kristoff unconvincingly.

Anna shoved Kristoff out of her way and he fell into an ungraceful heap with several trolls. "Did you know that a kiss wouldn't work?" Bulda didn't answer or meet Anna's eyes. Anna narrowed her eyes, "Then why did you suggest it?"

Bulda continued to remain silent, but Anna's looming figure and anger caused her to glance up and she lost her resolve, "Because then you would have been free from your fiancé and you could have chosen to make Kristoff happy. That would have been a selfless act and it would have saved you," she looked away again, "And because you would think it was the kiss that saved you, you would have thought he was your true love."

Anna was so furious she didn't know where to start, "Made _Kristoff _happy? How about made _you_ happy? And what about me and what I wanted? What about Hans? How selfish could _you _be?" she demanded.

"I just wanted my boy to be happy. You seemed like a very nice and spirited girl and I could tell that he liked you," said Bulda.

"Of all the misguided… ridiculous… _absurd_…" Anna spluttered, then rounded on Kristoff, "_And you think this didn't matter?_"

"It was over a year ago Anna, it's too late now. And what difference does it make anyways?" Kristoff defended, "And Hans is still a manipulative, self-centred jerk. Bulda did you a favor to help you find out before he killed your sister and took over your kingdom."

"I can't believe you," Anna said, shaking her head, "I can't _believe_ you!"

"Anna please–"

"No!" Anna yelled, backing away from Kristoff and the trolls, "I know what she did isn't your fault, but you are taking her side. _She almost got me killed and tried to trick me into marrying you!_ How is that any better than Hans locking me in a room? At least he admitted that the point was to kill me!"

"Anna–"

"NO!" she screamed, "_Leave me alone!_ I'll _walk_ back to Arendelle. There's no way I'm riding with you." With that, she turned and started half-running, half-stumbling away from the clearing, desperate to get as much space between herself and the trolls as possible.


	7. Arrangements

The sun was just starting to rise across the fjord when Anna stumbled the last few steps across the stone bridge to the castle. She was shivering and soaked. It had taken her all night to walk back to Arendelle, and a rain storm had started just after midnight. Though it was now a soaking, heavy weight, Anna had been very grateful for the extra protection of the clock she had original worn only to hide herself.

She reached up to knock on the door, but it was pulled open before her hand made contact. Gerda rushed through with two other castle staff members and slipped an arm around Anna's waist. Gerda started issuing instructions immediately: "Your highness! Thank goodness you're safe! Kai, notify the Queen, she'll want to recall the search parties," she directed, "Ingrid, draw a hot bath for the princess and prepare fresh clothing. Daan!" she called to a young stable hand running across the courtyard, "Go to the cook and tell him to send up some warm soup immediately!"

The servants scattered to their duties while Gerda supported Anna into the castle. Anna was so tired and cold that she tripped on the stairs into the castle and only Gerda's supporting arm prevented her from falling.

Teeth chattering, Anna lowered herself into the warm bath. A sigh escaped her as she felt her muscles inexorably relaxing. She closed her eyes and leaned against the side, letting the heat sooth her and and stop the trembling.

Half an hour later, when the heat of the water had dissipated to the point that she was shivering again, Anna climbed out, dried off, and wrapped herself in the thickest, fuzziest bathrobe that she owned. She padded across the room and through the door into her bedroom where she curled up in her bed which had been warmed with hot bricks. She was starting to drift into sleep when her door burst open so forcefully that it bounced off the wall and Elsa rushed to her side.

"Anna!" she cried, "I'm so glad you're safe! I was so worried when you didn't come back last night. Are you all right?"

Anna struggled back up and gave her sister a hug, "I'm fine Elsa. I was just upset, but I'm doing better now."

Regaining her composure, Elsa stood up off the bed and simply held on to Anna's hand. She squeezed it hard, "You must be exhausted. I'll let you sleep. You can tell me what happened when you wake up."

"No–" Anna yawned, "I'm awake. I'll tell you now." Her eyes started to drift shut again. Elsa laughed and Anna snapped herself awake, "Really, I'd rather tell you now."

Elsa sat on the edge of the bed again and brushed Anna's hair out of her eyes, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Anna, "I want to share it with someone." Anna squeezed Elsa's hand and took a deep breath. It only took her a few minutes to explain what she had learned from the trolls, "… so Hans is telling the truth, and Kristoff took Bulda's side, and I'm so mad at him! I could have died! Just because she wanted me to marry Kristoff when she didn't even know anything about me. And poor Hans! He really does love me. He was just upset and desperate. I know what he did was wrong, but as far as he knew he'd already lost me, and who could face more rejection right when the person who you love is about to die? And to think I punched him in the face and off the ship! I have to go to the Southern Isles Elsa! I have to see him!"

Elsa reached out a hand to stop the flood of words, "Anna, all you know is that that part was true. You don't know about the rest. The best way to hide a lie is by mixing it with truth."

Anna pulled her hand away and scooted sideways to put more space between her and her sister, "Elsa, he _helped_ you. You would have killed two men out of anger and fear yourself if he hadn't stopped you. How can you judge him?"

Elsa flinched, "You're right," she said. Elsa closed eyes and took a deep breath to steel herself, and said, "I'll go."

Anna crossed her arms and opened her mouth to keep arguing, "I _need_ to– wait, what?"

Elsa couldn't help but smile at Anna's confusion as she opened her eyes, "I'll go. You won't be fair-minded about it." She raised her hand again to cut off Anna's protest, "You are a passionate woman. You feel, and you aren't afraid to trust your feelings. That can be a good thing, but it can also be a very dangerous thing. I promise you that I will be fair and open minded. Besides, you're not the only one who needs to find answers and truth about this. If there is a chance he's telling the truth and you want to even renew a friendship with him, I need to be sure of it too. I will not lose you and our relationship again."

For a moment Anna just looked at Elsa, judging her sincerity. Then she threw herself across the bed and flung her arms around her sister. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she cried, "You have _no_ idea how much this means to me!"

Elsa hugged her back, "I think I do," she said with a smile. Elsa pulled back and put her hand on top of Anna's to get her attention, "But Anna, don't forget Kristoff. I understand your anger with the trolls, I feel the same way for other reasons, but whatever the trolls have done, Kristoff wasn't a part of it. His feelings for you are real, and even if you aren't sure what your feelings for him are, he is still your friend."

Anna smile faded and she looked away, unable to hold Elsa's gaze. "I know," she said, "I promise I'll talk to him while you're gone. Kristoff has been a good friend, and he deserves better than to be set aside or forgotten."

Elsa nodded and stood, "Remember that," she said, "Now get some sleep! I'll make arrangements for a ship to take me to the Southern Isles as soon as possible. I love you Anna."

Anna looked back up at Elsa with a puzzled look, "Wait, why are you angry with the trolls? You've never met them."

Elsa looked away, but not before Anna could see the pain and fear in her eyes, "Yes I have. They are the ones who saved you when I froze your head when we were little." She raised her eyes, and they were full of tears, "I know they meant well, but their warning about fear was a major factor in all the problems I've had with my magic." She continued before Anna could ask, "They wanted to make me be more careful so no one else would get hurt, and their leader could see that fear would be dangerous for me. But what he was wrong about was the type of fear. It wasn't the fear of others that was the threat, it was my own fear, and everything that he said and that Mom and Dad did to protect me because of it only reinforced my own fear." Elsa looked up and her eyes burned with intensity as she met Anna's gaze, "You are the _only_ person who has never been afraid of me or my magic."

Anna slid to the edge of her bed and reached up to take Elsa's hand, "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're my sister. You would never hurt me."

"But I have! Twice!" exclaimed Elsa.

"Those were accidents," said Anna, "And they were even partially my fault." She stood and wrapped her arms around his sister in another hug, "I have nothing to fear from you and I never will."

Elsa blinking rapidly and a few tears escaped down her cheeks, "That is the reason I learned control. Your love and complete acceptance of me are the only reason I have managed to master my magic and overcome my fear. With your help I could have done it sooner, but the trolls took that away too when they changed your memory. I don't regret them saving you, but I have to wonder if they had to change your memories, or if that wasn't just another bad decision inspired by fear."

"Oh Elsa," said Anna, hugging her tightly, "At least we're here now. I know now, and I'm still right here for you."

Elsa hugged her back, "I know. Thank you."

"I love you Elsa."

"I love you too Anna."


	8. The Southern Isles

**/* Author's note - My research has revealed that in Norway (Arendelle's "real world" location), "The Southern Isles" refers to Scotland, not Denmark. Which makes sense since Hans has red hair, and Denmark isn't an island. Hence the predominantly English / Scots names of the royal family. However, to explain Hans' name, the queen is from Denmark and they ran out of paternal family names after the first eight sons, so the rest were named for their mother's family. In case anyone is interested, all the names used were taken from lists of popular historical names for the appropriate regions in the 1500s.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews and follows! */**

Six weeks later, Elsa was standing at the prow of Arendelle's royal ship, watching as the Southern Isles came into sight. Letters had been sent to announce her intent to visit, and answers had returned to welcome her. So now Elsa and her small group of attendants which included only Kai and Gerda were mere hours from sailing into port. She had been a bit nervous about leaving Anna in charge of Arendelle without the support of their most trusted footman, but she knew Anna had other supporters and would be surrounded by friends. Despite formal apologies sent after the events of her coronation and the now potential misunderstanding of Hans' intentions, Elsa didn't know what to expect and she wanted to know that she could rely on at least two of the people around her.

"Your majesty," said a deep voice behind her, "We'll be at anchor shortly. I thought you might like to prepare yourself for your reception."

Elsa turned to see the ship's captain standing easily on the rolling deck of the ship. She stumbled slightly, _Now I know how Anna must feel all the time,_ she thought ruefully. Elsa had never really gotten her 'sea legs'. Perhaps in part because she was so nervous about being on ship after how her parents had died. "Thank you captain. Since I understand the entire royal family is going to be meeting me, that would be a good idea."

The captain bowed slightly and offered her his arm, but Elsa waved him aside. Slowly and carefully she made her way to the state cabin where Gerda was waiting to her help her change. Elsa didn't need the help, but she appreciated the company and comfort of a familiar face.

Despite her love of cloaks and trains, the summer weather combined with travelling made them impractical, so most of the dresses she had brought were very simple in form. She chose one in a dark blue with rosemaling of long, elegant, stylized snowflakes. The bodice had a silver band at the top and bottom, and the sleeves were long, fitted and a lighter blue. She left her hair in her now customary braid down her back, and added her new tiara (she hadn't had the heart to take the old one away from Marshmallow).

"You look lovely your majesty," said Gerda, stepping back from straightening Elsa's crown.

"Thank you Gerda," said Elsa, "It's probably time to go up on deck for our arrival and welcome."

"Your arrival and welcome your majesty," corrected Gerda.

"Oh course," said Elsa. She sighed lightly, "I miss Anna. She would enjoy this so much more."

Straightening to her full height and lifting her chin high, Elsa walked out of the state room and up onto the main deck. The ship was at anchor and the captain was waiting by the long boat that would row her to shore. He graciously helped Elsa to step into it and sit down with Kai and Gerda on either side of her. The boat was lowered steadily down to the water, the ropes were released, and the rowers picked up their oars. A few short minutes later, Kai was helping Elsa to disembark at the dock and the long boat returned to the ship to retrieve her luggage.

Elsa walked up the steps to the quay where the royal family was waiting for her. King Robert and Queen Margrete were surrounded by five of their 13 sons, three of whom had wives, and two of those with children. The third couple was clearly expecting their first child within a few months. As Elsa approached, King Robert stepped forward to meet her. He was a robust man with thick red hair and a booming voice, "Queen Elsa! Welcome to the Southern Isles. My servants will see that your things are delivered to your rooms so that you can freshen up from your journey. The official welcome will be held tomorrow night at dinner."

Elsa inclined her head in acknowledgement without taking her eyes off his face, "Thank you King Robert. However I feel perfectly refreshed and if it meets with your approval would appreciate sitting down with you immediately to discuss mutual matters of state."

Robert stepped aside and gestured for her to proceed him, "Of course my lady. If you'll accompany me, we will adjourn to the council room."

Elsa nodded again and stepped up beside Robert. Queen Margrete took his arm and fell in on his other side and their sons filed in behind them. There was a procession of royal carriages waiting for them at the edge of the quay, and the king stood back to allow Elsa to enter his personal carriage first. He and the queen then followed her in and closed the door.

The drive was to the castle was uneventful and filled with small talk of the business of running a kingdom, though they didn't broach any topics of relations between their two kingdoms. Elsa admired the gently rolling green hills she could see on one side of the carriage as they skirted the edge of the city.

"And that," boomed King Robert, "Is the summer castle."

Elsa turned to see where he was pointing. The summer castle was on the slightly small side as castles went, though easily still contained more than 50 rooms. Understandably considering the large size of the royal family.

"Ordinarily only my second son, Prince Duncan, and his family stay here as he has been managing the trade and ports of the kingdom. However, in light of your visit, we have gathered as many of the family here as possible. You'll have to excuse my seven missing sons as they are either too far away to travel here in time for your arrival or else busy on important missions for our kingdom."

Elsa turned to look at Robert, "Seven? You do have 13 sons, not 12."

Robert flushed, though Elsa couldn't tell if it was in embarrassment or anger, "The 13th does not count. I would hardly bring him to meet you after the unfortunately events surrounding your coronation."

In a calculated move to show her displeasure, Elsa turned away to look out the window again, "That is unfortunate as he is a part of the reason that I am here. I would like to speak with him during my stay." Elsa watched the king and queen in her peripheral vision to see their reactions.

A frown crossed Robert's face and Margrete's delicate features darkened. She lifted her chin higher and looked down at Elsa disdainfully, "I'm afraid that won't be possible as _Prince_ Hans is confined to the castle at our capital." The word 'prince' was accented with derision, and Elsa wondered how much was from before Hans had travelled to Arendelle.

She turned back to look at Margrete directly, "I'm afraid I really must insist. I do believe I merit at least that much right under the circumstances."

Margrete flushed, but it was Robert that answered, "If you are not opposed to travelling further inland, it can be arranged."

Elsa nodded in acceptance, "Then inland we will travel."


	9. Princes

**/* Tanska is the Finnish name for Denmark */**

In light of Elsa's request to see Prince Hans and therefore travel inland to the main castle, the planned meeting to discuss matters of state and welcome dinner were postponed in favour of an early night in order to be well rested to travel the next day. Prince Duncan was up early to see them off, but he would be staying behind to continue to manage the traders and port duties. The other four princes and their families were trailing out of the castle, though some, such as the young pregnant princess, looked decidedly tired and unhappy at the prospect.

Seeing this, Elsa sought out Robert, "Your majesty," she said, "It is not necessary to force your entire family to leave with us at this hour. Let them rest and come join us whenever is convenient for them. My visit is not so brief that they should be inconvenienced on my account." Elsa gave a meaningful glance at the pregnant princess.

Robert followed her gaze and let out a chuckle, "Aye," he said, "Princess Anne looks most upset to be travelling again so soon, and I'm sure Patrik would welcome a delay before facing her for a long day of carriage riding." He turned back to Elsa, "If you are sure it would not disturb you…" Elsa shook her head. "Then I will let them know."

Elsa watched Robert walk away to talk to his son and daughter-in-law. A few servants ran up quickly to see if their king needed them, but he waved them away. Elsa watched the relief flood Princess Anne's face at the news that she would not have to travel that day and nodded in acknowledgement of the relieved and thankful look that Patrik gave her.

"That was very diplomatic," said an unfamiliar voice. Elsa turned to find herself confronted with another one of the princes. She raised her eyebrow and he hastily bowed and introduced himself, "Prince Edgar, your majesty. Third in line to the crown. I will be riding in your carriage so that we can begin our state conference en route."

Prince Edgar was tall and solidly built like his father, however he had missed the red hair and somehow ended up with brown. He was conservatively dressed in comfortable riding clothes and from the dust on his boots Elsa guessed he had been up early riding before it was time to leave.

"And what about your wife?" she asked.

Edgar smiled dashingly, "Oh I'm not married yet. I'm still looking for a worthy woman. I don't suppose you're looking?"

The look Elsa gave him was chilling, "I am not. And if I was, I would definitely not be interested in someone I just met."

Edgar's smile disappeared and his eyes darkened, "Perhaps the rumours are true then?"

Elsa turned her back on him and walked away, "I don't put stock in rumours or gossip." She paused and half-turned to look back at him, "But if I did, I would have to wonder why a prince of your station and _age_ isn't married." With a pointed look, Elsa turned away again and walked over to join Queen Margrete.

Margrete inclined her head to Elsa as she approached, then glanced past her. Elsa knew the other queen had been watching her exchange with Edgar, but wasn't sure what the queen thought of it. She chose to ignore Margrete's raised eyebrow and instead gestured with her chin to where Robert and Patrik had been joined by two more princes, "Which of your sons are those?" she asked.

"William and Frederick," replied Margrete, "In light of your offer, I image that William will delay coming to the capital so his wife and daughter can be more comfortable. Robert will insist Frederick join us though as he has no other pressing concerns." Again, there was a slight tone of disapproval in her voice that made Elsa wonder.

Elsa debated whether to broach the subject, but it seemed unlikely that she would get another opportunity to speak with the queen in relative privacy, and it would be a good idea to gain some understanding of Hans' background to judge his actions. "You seem displeased with some of your sons," she said.

The look Margrete gave her was intelligent and informed – Elsa could see that she saw through her attempt at subtlety. "Being unmarried and childless, I don't expect that you will understand, but facts are facts: thirteen children can be difficult. Thirteen sons is an even greater challenge." She turned to face Elsa square on, "Do not misunderstand me, we provided the same education for all of our sons, but the focus and priority has to be on the immediate heirs. Otherwise the kingdom will have no leadership when Robert dies."

Deciding that being candid was the most likely method to get the answers she wanted, Elsa asked her question bluntly, "Are you saying that you neglected your younger sons?"

"I suppose it's all relative," said Margrete carelessly, "Their needs were certainly all met, but a monarch hardly has disposable time for things of little return." Elsa's blood ran cold at the off-handed dismissal of the youngest princes, Margrete's meaning could not be plainer. Margrete continued, "They could of course marry into higher stations, but with nothing to offer except minor ties to the royal family, they are unlikely to marry higher than a duchy, and so don't give much back to the crown."

"Then you do not care for them as people?" asked Elsa, trying hard to keep the judgement and anger from her voice.

Margrete looked away with obvious contempt for Elsa's lack of understanding and acceptance, "They were never left to founder, but one must chose priorities. You are welcome to judge our choices when you have children of your own." She walked away to join her husband without further acknowledgement.

Elsa was astonished. She had never expected such a callous dismissal. She was beginning to get a feel for the situation in which Hans was raised and which led to his own desire for power, love and recognition.

"They do love us you know," said another voice. Elsa looked to see that this one belonged to Frederick who had left the king and approached the two women unnoticed, "They certainly favoured James and Duncan the most, but they would never have sent any of us away. Thirteen is a large number."

Elsa tilted her head to one side, "And where do you fall in that order?" she asked.

Frederick smiled, "I'm the tenth son. The names should tip you off to some degree about where we are in the pecking order." He laughed.

Elsa furrowed her brow, "How so?"

"Well," Frederick said, his smile widening, "we were named for our father, uncles, grandfather, and godparents until they ran out of good Southern names, then they were forced to resort to names from the queen's family for the rest of us. So, if a name sounds like it comes from Arendelle's part of the world, you're talking to one of the youngest sons."

"That must be an unpleasant reminder for you," Elsa said.

Frederick shrugged, "It's just part of life as a prince of the Southern Isles."

"Was your mother from a duchy in Arendelle then?" Elsa asked curiously.

"No," said Frederick with a shake of his head, "She was a princess of Tanska, south of Arendelle, so they have similar names."

Elsa nodded in understanding. "Well you seem to be the most normal of the princes I've spoken to so far," she said.

Frederick laughed again, "Oh no," he said, "The 'normal' ones were all married by my age. After all, how else were our parents going to find something to do with us? You can only spend so much time sword fighting and hunting."

Elsa couldn't help but smile in response to Frederick's good humour. A movement beyond his shoulder drew her attention back to Edgar and her mirth faded. Frederick turned to see what had caught her eye and snorted, "I presume you've had a conversation with Edgar already. May I suggest you try Duncan instead? He's much more reasonable, which is why he's married and Edgar isn't. Or perhaps Niels when we get back to the capital."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Elsa, "But for the moment I believe it is time to step up into the carriage and start that 'long drive' back to the capital that you all keep talking about."


	10. The Capital

**/* Thank you all again for the reviews and follows! Especially those of you who leave reviews on multiple chapters. It's nice to know my work is enjoyed. */**

The actual trip to the capital of the Southern Isles was uneventful. Elsa was able to cover all the necessary discussion topics relating to trade and international relations during the ride, thereby freeing the remainder of her stay for the real reason of her visit: her investigation of Hans. She knew that the royal family was uncomfortable about her questions, but they also seemed to understand the reasoning behind it (or so they thought). The events of her coronation were what she was investigating, but her motivation was the letter Anna had received and not concern about the rest of the Southern Isles kingdom. She believed that whatever his motives may have been, Hans had been acting alone, so she wasn't going to pass up the trade that every kingdom needed to maintain to survive.

It wasn't until her third day at the capital that Elsa met another of Hans' brothers, one who didn't seem uncomfortable about her questioning. Instead, he seemed pleased. Niels was the second youngest prince, blond like his mother, and slenderly built like Hans. His wife Joan was timid and quiet, and their three children were well-mannered, yet exuberant. She met them all at dinner that night as they had just arrived in the capital from their duchy to the east, so it wasn't until the next day that Elsa was able to actually meet with Niels to discuss his younger brother.

"Did you parents give you the duchy then?" she asked.

"No," said Niels, "There aren't any extra duchies or earldoms to bestow on the princes at the moment, that's why Edgar, Robert, Richard and Frederick don't have any real responsibilities. My wife Joan was the only child of the former duke." He smiled wistfully, "I actually was lucky. I met Joan at a formal ball and we fell in love. My parents had been planning to arrange for Edgar to marry her to give him something to do, but the marriage hadn't been formalized or announced, so they allowed me to marry her instead when I asked." Niels shook his head, "I'm not sure Edgar ever forgave me for that," he smiled scornfully, "Not that he was interested in the girl, just the duchy."

Elsa nodded in understanding, "I imagine it has been rather competitive between the younger princes who have no chance of inheritance of the crown."

Niels nodded empathically, "Incredibly so." He jumped to his feet and began pacing, accenting his words with his hands, "Our father solidified his power and the support of the minor nobles by not simply creating new duchies or taking them away from others for us, but it meant that the few that became available were hotly contested." He stopped abruptly and spun to face her, "My brother Malcolm married the eldest daughter of heirless earl, and then the earl's wife died, he remarried, and the new one gave him a son within a year! By then Malcolm had settled in with his wife, so he took it fairly well. At least compared to some of my other brothers," he conceded.

Elsa shook her head is dismay, "I'm not even sure how to respond to that," she said.

Niels waved it off, "Don't worry about it. The king and queen actually encouraged it. After all, we had to find our own places, so they let us fight with each other so we would be stronger in order to face and fight with the world." He gave her a knowing look, "Hans was part of a pact with some of our brothers that they would find our own kingdoms to rule and prove to our parents that the education they gave us wasn't wasted and that they were valuable as people."

He suddenly looked beyond her then lowered his eyes and sat down, but not before Elsa could catch the look of shame. Confused, she turned to see that Joan had entered the room and was giving Niels a reproachful look. She turned back to Niels and waited for his explanation.

His face was slightly flushed when he looked up to meet Elsa's gaze again, "Truthfully, I was part of the pact," he admitted, "When I first met Joan she wouldn't even tell me her name because she had heard of the pact and didn't want to become someone's prize. She didn't tell me who she was until after I had fallen for her and asked her to marry me." He stood and extended an arm to invite Joan to stand with him, his face filled with love and wonder, "I'm not sure why she ever agreed."

Joan tucked herself into Niels' arm and smiled softly up at him, "Because I saw you change. I watched you transform from a person desperate to prove himself to parents who didn't care into the compassionate and loving person that you were hiding. All because you loved me." She looked directly at Elsa and her smiled broadened slightly, "Who wouldn't marry such a man?" she asked.

_Who indeed?_ Elsa thought. For the first time, she felt a pang that maybe she was missing something in her life. Anna loved her unconditionally, but somehow it wasn't quite the same thing. _Is this really how Hans feels about Anna?_ she wondered.

Elsa shook herself and refocused, "So why aren't you uncomfortable about my questions?" she asked.

Niels looked away from Joan and laughed, "I imagine the rest are a pit prickly about Hans and our upbringing considering what he almost did to you." He smiled down at Joan again, "Thanks to my wonderful wife, I've been on both sides of the issue, so I have more understanding than most. Though," there was a flash of shame again as he looked back to Elsa, "Joan had to remind me of my imperfections before I would give Hans a chance."

"Then you know about the letter and believe it's true?" she asked.

"Know about it?" Niels laughed, "Who do you think convinced him to write it? And then managed to get it delivered to you?"

Elsa nodded slowly as she began to understand, "So no one else knows?" she asked.

"Well," Niels began, sitting down and pulling Joan down beside him, "They know how he feels, but they don't believe him. So no, they don't know about the letter. I'm probably the only person here who knows the full reason for your visit."

Elsa tilted her head in confusion, "Doesn't Hans?"

Niels shook his head, "He's locked in his room and under strict guard. He doesn't know you're here. I haven't even managed to get news to him that I was able to send his letter."

Elsa stood and walked purposefully towards the door, "Then I believe it's time that I insist on seeing the 'prisoner'," she said.


	11. Waiting

**/* Author's note - Yes, I'm making you wait another chapter before you get to see Hans. But really, Anna's waiting a lot longer than that! ;) */**

It had only been a couple of days since Elsa had left, but Anna was already climbing the walls. Almost literally. What she wanted to do was order a ship for herself to follow down to the Southern Isles and see Hans for herself, but she knew that wasn't an option. She had a kingdom to run and people to watch out for. With Elsa gone, it became Anna's responsibility to settle disputes, make trade agreements and handle the various diplomats that were currently hanging around the court. She was developing a lot of respect for what her sister had to do on a daily basis and was very glad that she would be able to give the responsibilities back over in a month or so.

Unfortunately, or fortunately since she really wasn't looking forward to it, all the extra duties meant that Anna hadn't had the chance to seek out Kristoff and speak with him yet. He seemed to have been avoiding her since their last encounter with the trolls, and she really couldn't blame him. Finally, she had to send a servant down to the market every day to keep an eye out for him. She knew he wouldn't come to her and she was too busy to go looking for him. She also wasn't willing to go back to the trolls to find him if he was avoiding her.

So it was five days after Elsa's departure and just over five weeks since Anna had last seen Kristoff that the servant returned to announce that Kristoff was waiting in the garden for her. Anna had to take a few deep breaths to nerve herself, then quickly checked how she looked in the nearest mirror before heading downstairs and outside to meet him.

The moment she saw him, Anna knew that all her worrying about what she was going to say to him was pointless. The flow of words was instantaneous, and it took her a moment to realize that Kristoff had started speaking at the same time.

"I'm so sorry about how I took off! It was–" she started.

"I completely understand why–" he said.

They both stuttered to a stop and Anna laughed nervously, "I'm sorry, go ahead," she said.

"No," said Kristoff, "You go first."

With a deep breath, Anna started over, "I shouldn't have blamed you and taken off like I did," she said, "I admit, I'm still upset about what the trolls did, but it's not fair to blame you for their actions. I'm sorry." Anna stopped herself before she could start rambling.

Kristoff took a step towards her, "I'm sorry too," he said, "I understand why you're upset and I don't blame you for it. Gulda has been like a mother to me, and I felt like I needed to defend her." He flushed and looked at his boots, "And I've been jealous of Hans basically since I met you. It made me mad when you started talking about him like he was a good guy."

"Oh Kristoff," Anna flopped ungracefully onto a nearby bench, "He might be. He wrote me a letter, and I'm so confused. I think he's telling the truth and Elsa's gone to find out, and I wish it was me. I can't stand just waiting here for her to come back and tell me what she learned!"

Kristoff tentatively sat down beside her. "What did the letter say?" he asked.

Anna hesitated a moment, then reached inside the neck of her dress to retrieve the letter. She couldn't miss the look of pain on Kristoff's face as he realized that she'd been carrying around Hans' letter for a month and a half. He took in gingerly, unfolded it and quickly read through it before handing it back. When he didn't say anything Anna nudged him with her elbow, "What do you think?"

"I think you were right," he said, "I really like you Anna, but I don't think we would be a good match."

"Wait, what?" said Anna, "That's not what I was asking!"

"I know," said Kristoff, "But it's what I originally came here to say and I felt like I needed to get it out of the way first."

"Kristoff…" Anna started.

He held up his hand to stop her, "Do you disagree?" he asked. Anna had to shake her head. "Then we accept that we make better friends and move on from there," he said matter-of-factly.

Anna sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry about all of this."

Kristoff reached over and squeezed her hand, "Don't be. How else would we have found out without taking the time to get to know each other?" he asked. Before she could answer, Kristoff pulled his hand away and straightened, "Now about this letter, it could be true. Then again, it could be more manipulation, but I think you already know all that."

Anna laughed humourlessly, "Yes, that's why Elsa's gone to the Southern Isles and I'm here governing the kingdom."

Kristoff nodded slowly, "I think you made the right choice. You're too close to this. Elsa will be more objective and more likely to find out the truth." He gave her a sympathetic glance, "Sorry Anna, but this time it's your turn to sit it out and wait for someone else."

Anna huffed in annoyance, "I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"


	12. Prisoner

**/* I'm glad you're all enjoying FTL! Thanks again for the reviews, it's always nice to get feedback. Without further ado – Here's Hans! */**

Though Elsa had to walk up a tower of stairs in order to reach Hans' prison, there was no mistaking the fact that he was a prisoner. Guards were posted at the bottom and top of the stairs as well as at every full turn of the spiral. The door at the top had been reinforced and the hinges were on the outside of the door so they could not be removed from within and there was no place to hide when the door was opened. Because of her conversation with Niels, Elsa wondered how much was to keep Hans in and how much was to keep others out.

Despite King Robert and Queen Margrete's displeasure, Elsa had insisted on seeing Hans without them. With a show of resistance, she finally agreed to an escort when Niels offered. So she found herself standing at the top of one of the castle towers, waiting while the guards unlocked the door, chained Hans to the wall, then retreated down the stairwell to be out of immediate earshot for an average conversation, though still close enough to respond if called for.

Niels entered the room first and Elsa followed, so she and Hans were hidden from each other's view. She glance around the room quickly, noting the sparse furniture, lack of books, empty fireplace, and barred windows.

"Hans," said Niels and Elsa could hear the smile and suppressed excitement in his voice, "I sent your letter. It made it to Arendelle."

Elsa heard the shifting of chains as Hans moved, though she still couldn't see him. Hans' voice was rough from disuse, "Is there an answer?"

"Sort of," said Niels, "You have a visitor." He stepped aside to reveal Elsa.

Hans' clothes were dirty and worn, his hair long and disheveled, but what shocked her the most was the dead and hopeless look in his eyes. There was none of the confidence and life that she had seen at her coronation. Instead, he looked utterly defeated.

Hans jerked forwards in anticipation, then shrank back when he recognized her. Elsa saw the hope flare in his eyes, followed by confusion, then fear. "Queen Elsa?" he stuttered, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here for my sister," she answered, "To find out if your letter is true."

The fear faded from Hans' eyes and he sank back onto a bench by the wall, "I don't have any way to prove it." He laughed bitterly, "Seeing me like this probably is just going to convince you that I'm just trying to get out of a horrible situation." He sighed, leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Elsa glanced sideways at Niels and saw the concern in his eyes. Though she still wasn't sure about Hans' motivations, she had seen and heard enough to understand how it could be possible. She also did believe that Niels was sincere, and he clearly believed in his brother's motivations. Not sure what else she could do, Elsa decided her best chance was to ask questions and see what she could find out. "What happened when you came home?" she asked.

Hans didn't open his eyes to answer and his voice was monotone, "News of what happened is Arendelle arrived first, so I was met at the ship and brought straight here where I've been ever since."

At this news, Elsa looked closer. She quickly realized Hans was telling the truth: the clothes he was wearing, though clearly worn and dirty, were the same ones he had been wearing when he was banished from Arendelle. Feeling a stir of pity, Elsa let her eyes roam over him to see that he had noticeably lost weight. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was a sickly translucent colour. "Why didn't they put you in the dungeon?"

Hans did crack open an eye at that question and gave her an ironic smile, "It sets a bad precedent," he said, "The story is that I have been simply 'confined to my quarters'. This way, if another person of royal blood is in trouble the standard has been set that royalty still demands respect. They are set up nicely in their room and just kept out of the way." Hans lifted his hands to gesture at his room and the chains clanked loudly, "It doesn't quite live up to the description."

"No, that it doesn't," said Elsa quietly. Hans had clearly had a long and tedious year. Still, she wasn't sure that she believed Hans' actions were completely motivated by love and desperation. She knew she couldn't leave him without an answer, but Elsa wasn't sure how to satisfy her uncertainties. However, there was reasonable doubt that he had been merely power hunger, and Elsa felt that she needed to let Hans know. She cleared her throat and straightened to a more regal stature, "I want to believe your letter Hans," she said.

Hans' eyes flew open. He stared at her for a moment, blinked, then slowly rose to his feet. He walked over as close to her as she could and started intently into her eyes. Elsa didn't flinch under the scrutiny, and as she stared back, she saw the faintest stirrings of hope. "You're considering it?" he asked, "I hoped– I mean I tried not to, but I couldn't help but hope–" he trailed off, then started over, "Why?"

Elsa resisted the urge to look away, "Anna spoke to the trolls and they confirmed what you said about her frozen heart. Seeing you here like this, I know you were telling the truth about knowing it wouldn't work when she asked you to kiss her: you've had no chance to learn since."

Relief flooded his eyes and Hans sank to the floor in front of Elsa, his arms stretched awkwardly behind him because of the chains, "Oh thank you," he whispered. Hans closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Elsa could see tears glistening on his cheeks, "Anna knows why I couldn't kiss her then." He opened his eyes again and fixed Elsa with a penetrating stare, rising back up onto his knees, "I couldn't take advantage of her. I wanted her to kiss me because she loved me, not because of a spell. She was so desperate, and if I had given her what she wanted she would have doubted my love when it didn't work. Queen Elsa, does she understand?" His voice was so desperate and intense that Elsa almost backed away from him.

She hesitated, then knew she had to tell him the truth, "Yes," she said, "Anna understands about the kiss and she doesn't blame you."

Hans sank back again, "Oh thank you," he whispered, "Thank you, thank you…" His voice petered off into a breathless whisper as Hans sank down onto the floor again. "It's more than I ever thought possible. I can be happy now. Thank you." Hans closed his eyes again and laid his head down on the floor, clearly exhausted by the intensity of his emotions.

Niels stepped to Elsa's side, causing her to jump. She had forgotten that there was another person in the room. He gestured for her to precede him out of the room, and with a final glance at Hans' now still figure, she left the tower and started to descend the tower stairs.


	13. Introspection

It was late that night when Elsa threw off her covers and sprang out of bed. She had been tossing and turning for hours, unable to sleep because she kept seeing Hans lying on the floor and chained the wall of his room. Though she wasn't quite sure why, every time she pictured him she was filled with an intense feeling of guilt. Elsa tried to brush it off and ignore it, but she couldn't distract herself. Hoping that reading a book might help, she crossed the room to light a candle from the coals in the fireplace.

Elsa sat in a comfortable arm chair near the fireplace and picked up a book entitled "Customs of the Southern Isles" that she had borrowed from the castle library. However she quickly realized that she couldn't focus on reading either.

Giving up on mental distractions, Elsa dressed in a light robe and soft-soled slippers in order to take a walk around the castle. She nodded to the sentry outside her door and waved him back to his post when he started to follow her. It was well past midnight, so the halls and rooms were dark. She didn't run into anyone else during her wanderings until she reached a door to the upper castle wall. There another sentry saluted her and offered her an escort which she declined.

Outside in the fresh air Elsa felt her mind calm. She walked out to a point midway between the night watchmen and leaned against the parapet. As she relaxed and breathed in the night air, Elsa felt her confusing thoughts organize themselves. She closed her eyes, leaned out and breathed deeply, enjoying the light brush of the night breeze against her face. It held a cool freshness that reminded her of the distant mountains of home.

Suddenly her thoughts locked together and Elsa's eyes flew open. She understood _exactly_ why she felt guilty about Hans, and why she was finding it difficult to accept his letter as truth: if she did, she would have to admit her own failings, and that she had committed crimes as serious as his.

Elsa leaned backwards and gripped the parapet so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes flicked from side to side as though she was speed-reading an invisible document in front of her. She had hidden herself from her people and had intended to resume hiding as soon as her coronation was complete. She had done the work of a monarch, but never been available to her people. And then, when everything had gone horribly wrong and her secret was revealed, she ran away. She didn't consider the people she left behind or the fact that up to that point Anna had received virtually no training in how to manage a kingdom before leaving her to run it. When her solitude was invaded and the Duke of Weselton's men had threatened her, she had nearly killed them. In fact, it was only Prince Hans' intervention that had stopped her. When he brought her back to Arendelle to face the consequences of her actions, all she did was try to run away again. And finally, when confronted with the fact that she had killed her sister, she did nothing. She gave up. Elsa was horrified. She an committed an extensive list of crimes, yet what penalty had she paid? None. She was welcomed back with open arms as though none of it had happened.

_And what about Hans?_ said a small voice in her head, _What did he do?_ it asked insistently. He made Anna happy. He took over the running of Arendelle when Anna left to come find her. He cared for her people in the middle of a crisis that she had caused and ensured that they were safe, as warm as possible, and protected. He searched for Anna when her horse returned without her. He stopped Elsa from murdering two men. He _asked_ her to end the winter without threats. His 'crimes' had been running away from the woman he loved when he realized that he couldn't save her and choosing to enact justice for her death against her killer without a full trial. For that he had been shipped home and imprisoned for the next year. The injustice was appalling.

Having finally figured it out, Elsa was no longer surprised that she felt guilty. How could she not? She braced herself and made her decision: she had a few more questions to ask to confirm the truth of Prince Hans' story, but if they came through, she would see justice and mercy served and would save him from this nightmare.


	14. Confirmation

**/* Author's Note - Thanks again for the reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it. :) */**

The next morning found Elsa up and out just after sunrise. Now that she had realized the reason she was hesitating to forgive Hans, she knew she couldn't delay any longer. If his letter was true than he had suffered more than enough. The only trouble was that she still didn't know how to test the truth of his claims.

Wandering randomly through the castle gardens, Elsa nearly bumped into Joan as she rounded a corner. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry, I should have been watching where I was going."

Joan smiled at her, "So should I. I was watching my children and got distracted. My apologies Your Majesty."

Elsa looked down and saw three younger children surrounding the princess. Their eyes were bright and inquisitive, and the youngest who looked to be about four years old, was bouncing slightly on her feet as though she longed to run. "Oh please," she said, "Call me Elsa."

"Very well," said Joan, "What brings you out to the garden on this fine early morning Elsa?"

Elsa couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the open and welcoming attitude of the princess. She wished Joan lived in Arendelle so that she would have a chance to get to know this quiet, yet confident and self-possessed woman. "I've been thinking," she admitted, "I'm trying to find a way to be sure about Prince Hans' feelings and motivations."

Joan nodded gravely, "That is a challenging issue. I can only tell you my opinion, you will have to make your own conclusions."

Elsa gestured for Joan to join her, "I would very much appreciate hearing your opinion if you are willing to share it."

Joan crouched down and gave each of her children a quick hug, then sent them off to play. They took off like arrows shot from a bow. She straightened up and fell in beside Elsa to walk with her.

They walked together in silence for a little while, enjoying the crisp morning air. Elsa saw Joan glance sideways at her and knew that she had delayed enough, "It's about Hans' claims," she said. Joan simply nodded and continued to wait. "I'm having a hard time with his explanation of love being the reason he did everything. I mean, he left Anna to die! That's not something you do to someone you love."

Joan walked a few more steps in silence with a thoughtful look on her face, then stopped and turned to face Elsa straight on. "Before I say anything, I want you to keep in mind that I am not judging anyone's actions. I'm not trying to endorse or condemn anyone. Alright?"

Thinking Joan was talking about Hans, Elsa nodded, "Alright."

A small knowing smile appeared on Joan's face that Elsa didn't understand. "I'd like to start with a question. Have you ever been afraid?"

Elsa laughed out loud, "Only for most of my life!" she declared.

Joan's smile had disappeared, "Why?"

"Because of my magic," she explained, "I was afraid of hurting someone. I was afraid of people finding out about it. I was afraid of what they would do when they found out."

Joan nodded slowly, "So there was pain mixed in with your fear too."

"Well, yes. I suppose so."

"And what did you do about it?" Joan asked.

This time Elsa looked away and her pale cheeks coloured in shame. "I hid."

Joan nodded without saying anything.

The colour drained back out of Elsa's face, "Are you saying Hans did the same thing?" she asked incredulously, "It's completely different!"

Joan's eyebrow rose, "Is it?" she asked. Joan resumed walking and Elsa fell into step beside her, "He was faced with the woman he loved dying in front of his eyes while he could no nothing to stop it or even slow it down. She was freezing from the inside out, no fire could stop that. Wouldn't you be hurting and afraid it someone you loved was dying in front of you?"

"Well yes, of course," said Elsa, "But then why did he tell her he didn't love her? Why did he say that he was just in Arendelle for power?"

"Nobody likes to admit being helpless and afraid," said Joan, "Hans has spent his whole life feeling inadequate and unwanted. He and some of his brothers learned to fight that by seeking power to get the approval and love that their parents denied them. Now, just when he seemed to have found a place where he mattered and a person who loved him, he was going to lose it all. So he reverted to old habits, hoping it would fill the hole again." Her eyes were bright with tears, "He didn't know that there is no replacement for true love once you've felt it."

Elsa shook her head, "I still don't see why he would lie and hurt Anna."

"Self-defence," said Joan, "He'd spent his life alone, and now he was about to be alone again. People don't change overnight, of course he resorted to old habits."

Elsa nodded reluctantly, "I guess."

Joan reached out a gentle hand and laid it on Elsa's shoulder, "I'm not saying it was a good choice. Hans knows that was the worst mistake he made that day."

"And trying to kill me?" she said.

The look Joan gave her was reproachful and Elsa felt her cheeks flush again. "Hans did not create the situation. He was not the one who froze Anna's heart. Wouldn't you kill to protect someone you loved?"

"To protect them? Yes," said Elsa, "But he wasn't protecting her."

"Everyone thought killing you would end the winter didn't they?" Elsa nodded. "Then there was also the chance that killing you would thaw your sister's heart. Though I think Hans had accepted your sister's death as inevitable and was acting out of pain, fear, anger and a desire for revenge: plenty of motivation to kill someone."

Elsa was forcibly reminded of the two men who had attacked her in her ice castle and how she had tried to kill them. She had been acting in self-defence, but fear and anger had driven her beyond sense to the point of almost killing them. She had to nod in acceptance of Joan's explanation.

"I have another question for you," said Joan. Elsa looked up and tilted her head slightly to show she was listening. "What are the laws around the monarchy in Arendelle?" she asked.

Elsa furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

"Can a queen be a ruling monarch?" Joan asked.

"Well obviously yes since I am one," Elsa replied.

"And if you married? Would your husband become king?"

"No," said Elsa.

"Why?" Joan pressed.

Elsa was baffled about where the conversation was going, "Because he wouldn't carry the royal blood of Arendelle," she said.

Joan smiled and nodded as though Elsa had passed a test, "Then Hans couldn't have taken control of Arendelle by marrying Anna?" she asked.

Elsa started to answer, then stopped herself. It was true. He may have been able to act as a regent in the event of her and Anna's death, but even then another heir with a connection to Arendelle's royalty would have been found. There were various dukes and earls in Arendelle who had married younger princes and princesses in the past and so would have greater claim to the throne. "No," she said, "He would have had a difficult time winning the support of Arendelle's minor nobles when he had no personal claim to Arendelle's royal blood and they did."

Joan nodded again, "I'm not saying Hans knew that, because I don't know if he did. But you should consider that."

Elsa nodded. Joan's explanations made sense. They actually made more sense in some ways than her original interpretations of Hans' actions. Then she suddenly had another thought, "Joan," she said, "You can't truly love someone you just met. So why would Hans propose so quickly unless it was to get power?"

"You know the answer to that," said Joan. At Elsa's confused look she continued, "The gates were only open for the day of your coronation. One day. What was the probability that they would ever get to see each other again after the gates closed?" Elsa was forced to admit that it wasn't very probable. "Then it's the same reason that Anna accepted," Joan said, "They saw no future chances to get to know each other. So it was either that day, or never. And they were both willing to take that chance."

Impulsively, Elsa reached out and hugged Joan tightly, "Thank you," she said, then smiled, "I guess this means I have some bargaining to do with the King."


	15. Letter Home

**/* Author's Note - I have gone back and edited my first chapter because I received some good advice that Elsa needed more substance in that chapter, and really, Olaf would have showed up before now. It doesn't affect the plot or story at all, but if you're interested, please go back and reread it and let me know what you think of my changes. Thanks! */**

My sweet sister Anna,

Since I know you're waiting impatiently, I thought I would write you this letter to let you know how things are progressing here in the Southern Isles. I've finished my investigation into Hans' letter. With some help from one of Hans' brothers and his wife I've come to the conclusion that he is sincere. I'll tell you the details when I come home since it would be too complicated to write out in a letter.

Unfortunately, because of everything that happened, Hans has been imprisoned for the last year. Today has been set aside for the formal ball honouring my visit, but tomorrow I will sit down with King Robert and begin negotiations for his release. I'm not sure how long it will take. If necessary, I will ask for Hans' extradition to Arendelle to be tried for his actions. They did not offer him a trial here, only a punishment, so I don't think there will be a conflict with my request. Actually, I think having a trial in Arendelle would be the best way to bring the facts out so that our people will be able to accept Hans' return as well.

I am out of time now as I have to prepare for the ball, but I'll write again soon to let you know how the negotiations go.

I love you,

Elsa

Anna read her sister's letter hungrily, and when she reached the end, she jumped up, held it tightly to her chest and shouted "YES!" The servant that was cleaning the solar looked up in surprise the find Anna in the room, but Anna ignored her and ran out in search of someone with whom to share her good news.

Anna had barely left the room went she tripped over Olaf, who had been just outside the door when Anna came flying through it. She ended up in an ungraceful heap on the floor, and Olaf's head was knocked across the hall while his legs started to wander off in search of him. A servant rounded the corner and Olaf called out to him, "Stop me!"

Startled, the servant instinctively reached out to grab Olaf's legs which were already starting to melt in the heat without the protection of his personal flurry which had stayed with Olaf's head. He quickly brought them back while Anna pushed herself back up onto her feet and picked up Olaf's head. "I'm so sorry Olaf!" she said, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's okay," said Olaf as Anna placed his head back on his body and the servant bowed and continued with his duties, "What are you so excited about?"

"I just got a letter from Elsa!" she exclaimed, "She says that Hans really does love me!"

Olaf smiled brightly, "Of course Elsa lov–" he interrupted himself, "Wait... _Hans_ loves you? Isn't he the one that left you to freeze?"

Anna wasn't listening, she unfolded the letter again and read it to Olaf. When she finished she shook her head at the letter, "Oh Elsa, you're always so formal! I wish you would relax a little more often!"

Olaf scratched his head, "_Hans_ loves you?" he repeated, "I know I'm not a love expert, but I didn't think that was how loves works."

Anna smiled at Olaf and tried to explain, "He was upset because I was dying and he couldn't save me, so he lied about it." Olaf was looking more confused by the moment so Anna gave up, "Elsa will explain it when she gets back.

"Oh, okay!" said Olaf brightly, "Can we go swimming now?"

Anna folded the letter back up and tucked it into her dress with the one from Hans, "You're on!"


	16. Ball of the Southern Isles

**/* Author's Note - Thanks to those who went back and reread my first chapter! I thought I should introduce Olaf earlier in the story and I was advised that Elsa needed more depth in that chapter, so if you haven't reread my edit, please do and let me know what you think! Otherwise, enjoy as Elsa wows the nobles of The Southern Isles with her magic. */**

Elsa was just finishing dressing in her favourite dress – the blue sparkling gown with the long, transparent cape that she made when she was first experimenting with her powers – when there was a knock at her door and Kai's voice spoke from the other side, "Your majesty, Prince Niels requests a moment of your time before the ball."

Elsa stood and crossed the room to the full length mirror. After a quick spin to check that everything was in place, she turned to the door and called out, "Show him in Kai."

Kai opened the door and bowed respectfully as Prince Niels passed him. Niels nodded in acknowledgement and crossed to Elsa before giving the half bow of one noble to another of higher rank. "You majesty," he said, "I'm glad to speak with you before the ball. My wife tells me you plan to make a request of the king tomorrow."

For a moment Elsa wondered at Niels' sudden formality, then she realized that it was because of the presence of her servants and the sentry at the door. She nodded to him and responded with the same detachment, "I am."

"If I may a have a moment of your time in private, I have a recommendation for you."

Elsa was escorted down to the waiting area behind the dais in the great hall by her sentry. There she found King Robert, Queen Margrete and the four of their sons who were currently staying at the capital with them. Feeling somewhat self-conscious, Elsa masked her apprehension behind her well-practiced self-mastery. She also knew it gave her a more regal bearing, which would only help when facing her first public presentation outside of her own kingdom.

She listened as the footman announced each prince from the youngest (and least important) to the king and queen. Niels was the first to be presented with his wife Joan, and he gave Elsa a slight nod before stepping beyond the curtain and onto the dais. He was followed by Patrik and Anne who had arrived in the capital a few days after the main party, than Edgar who had avoided Elsa since their first conversation, then James – the firstborn and heir to the throne – and his wife Katherine, and finally King Robert and Queen Margrete who were announced by a trumpet fanfare.

A different, shorter fanfare sounded, and Elsa knew her introduction was next.

"King Robert welcomes our guest of honour this evening, Queen Elsa of Arendelle," called out the footman.

With a deep breath, Elsa stepped around the curtain and was greeting by polite applause from the assembled nobles. She couldn't help but notice the whispering that her arrival prompted. Determined to properly fill her role as guest, Elsa crossed the dais to King Robert and gave him the slight head nod of equals. He returned the nod and gestured for her to take the seat on his right. Elsa thanked him and sat down.

The royally sponsored string ensemble started to play and Robert turned to Elsa to invite her to share the first dance of the evening. Though she had starting dancing at home, Elsa declined Robert's offer and instead invited him to enjoy the dance with his wife. She watched as he stood and escorted Margrete onto the dance floor where they proceeded to waltz together in perfect step.

A few hours into the ball, Niels caught Elsa's eye and nodded. She stood a walked to the front centre of the dais where she waited for Robert to approach her. The musicians stopped playing and Robert joined her on the dais.

Elsa bowed slightly in respect and gratitude, and spoke, "King Robert, I thank you for your kind hospitality. You have welcomed me into your kingdom and have now offered this ball in my honour. As a token of my gratitude I would like to present you with a unique gift."

With a gesture, Robert invited her to continue, so Elsa stepped back and drew her hands together, spinning them around an invisible point until a sparkling light filled the space between them. She then looked up, picked her location (the far right corner of the dais), and thrust her hands towards it.

The magic flew to her chosen point and froze the water in the air so quickly that it sublimated into snow. She walked to the tall snow pile and placed her right hand on it. Closing her eyes to concentrate, Elsa pictured what she wanted and gave her magic a mental push. The snow instantly flew off before settling into a light blanket on the floor. What was left was transformed into a beautiful ice sculpture of a pear tree.

Awed, Robert crossed to her side to look at the tree more closely. The details were intricate, including lines in the bark and veins in the leaves. "This is beau–" he started before cutting himself off with a gasp. Robert reached out to touch the trunk and his finger traced the elegant script which spelt out his and Margrete's names.

Elsa smiled to herself in satisfaction, her gift had almost exactly the effect that she'd wanted. Now she just had to wait for Robert's offer.

Robert's eyes followed the ice tee's trunk to look at the branches. Elsa could see his lips move silently as he counted the branches on the tree and found thirteen. She watched as he found and traced the names of his sons as their wives on each branch. The names of his grandchildren were carved into pears hanging from their parents' branch.

Whispers broke out among guests and Elsa turned slightly to see them trying to get a better view of the tree without moving until Robert was done his examination. She smiled to herself: seeing people appreciate her magic was always exhilarating.

Finally, King Robert finished and turned away from the tree. His eyes were still wide with wonder as he approached Elsa and bowed deeply in gratitude. "Your majesty," he said in a awed voice, "This gift is truly unique and beautiful. I do not have the words to express my appreciation. I have nothing to offer of similar value, so I invite you to request what you will."

Surprised whispers greeted this announcement, but Elsa didn't spare a glance for them. Instead, she took a deep breath and addressed Robert, "Thank you. If it is acceptable to you, I request the extradition of your youngest son, Prince Hans, to Arendelle for trial."


	17. Confrontation

"WHAT?!" The exclamation came from the middle of a crowd which parted to reveal Prince Edgar. He strode forward angrily and stopped in front of Elsa, who faced him calmly. Before he could say another word, Queen Margrete stepped up beside him and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him down to her height and whispering angrily in his ear. When she stopped talking, Edgar straightened up, crossed his arms and glared at Queen Elsa, but he didn't say another word.

Elsa turned back to King Robert to see that his other sons in attendance – James, Patrik and Niels – were converging on him. Their wives were gathered off to the side and whispering to each other, though Joan shot Elsa a sympathetic, yet approving glance.

Robert looked down at the floor silently for a moment before meeting her eyes to respond, "You sent him back to us. Are you displeased with the justice we have enacted?"

In a calculated move, Elsa raised her chin, then tilted her head forward to create the appearance that she was looking down on Robert, despite his greater height, "Justice?" she said, "What justice? Was there a trial? Was there a sentence?" Elsa didn't wait for his answer, "All I see is a punishment. That is not justice."

Robert turned his head slightly to listen to James for a moment before answering, "If it is your desire you have him face a trial–"

Elsa cut him off with a sharp motion of her hand, allowing just enough release of magic to create a cold wind. "For what will he face trial? What wrong has he committed against the Southern Isles? Have you suffered for his actions against us?" she demanded in a regal voice.

Niels spoke just loudly enough that Elsa could hear his words to Robert, "She has a point sire. Hans has committed no crime against us. Nor has Arendelle restricted trade or in any other way reacted to his crimes against them. We have no cause to put him on trial."

"But can we trust her?" whispered James, "What if she sentences Hans to death?"

Robert considered his sons' words for a moment before nodding. He straightened himself and faced Elsa squarely, "What assurance do you offer that if I give him into your keeping that he will receive a fair trial and just punishment?"

"Instead of no trial and the overly lenient punishment of merely being locking in his castle room?" she challenged. Elsa knew Hans' confinement was much more brutal than being locked in his room, but because Robert had created a facade, she was able to use it against him. She had the added satisfaction of seeing Robert's internal struggle as he attempted to determine if she was mocking his facade or ironically challenging his harsh treatment of Hans. He evidently came to a decision as his eyes darkened and narrowed.

"You have not answered my question," he insisted.

Elsa waved a hand dismissively, "Will an oath content you?" she asked, "We, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, to hereby swear before you and these witnesses that Hans be neither killed, nor mutilated." She allowed her own eyes to narrow and dropped her voice threateningly, "And if our royal oath is not enough to content you, send one of your other sons to oversee it."

Edgar pulled away from Margrete and stomped over to the king, "Oh let her have him," he said roughly, not bothering to keep his voice down, "What good is he doing around here anyways?"

Robert turned on his third son angrily, but Niels quickly intervened, "Send me sire. She has promised he will not die. I will see to it that she keeps her word."

His gaze shifted to Niels as Robert considered his choices. He turned to James and raised an eyebrow in question, and James nodded. He huffed angrily and turned back to Elsa, "Very well, you may have him." Elsa inclined her head in acknowledgement, but Robert continued before she could turn away, "But I'm afraid you have overstayed your welcome, so take your prisoner and be gone." He turned his back on her and walked away.

Elsa smiled privately to herself, she had enjoyed playing the part of an angry monarch against this man who valued his family so little. She would gladly take an early dismissal from the Southern Isles in exchange for Hans' freedom from this oppressive environment. And King Robert need never know that he had been played with a bit of help from one of his sons.


	18. Rescue

**/* Author's Note - Thank you for the reviews! Especially those of you who have left reviews on multiple chapters. I really appreciate it. Here's the moment you've all been waiting for! Well, one of them. Hans is free! */**

* * *

Recognizing that she had what she wanted and that King Robert wasn't entirely happy about it, Elsa excused herself from the ball early and returned to her rooms to pack for her departure. Gerda started up out of the chair by the fireplace in surprise when she swept into the room.

"Your majesty!" she exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you back so early! Is everything alright?"

Elsa smiled and impulsively hugged Gerda who stiffened in shock. "Yes Gerda! Prince Niels' advice worked beautifully!" Her smiled faded and was replaced by a concerned look, "But it means that we are going to be leaving unexpectedly."

"Soon your majesty?" asked Gerda, trying desperately to follow Elsa's train of thought.

Elsa nodded, "Immediately. Would you please help me out of this gown? I need to see about securing Hans' release, and I can't do it wearing this."

Long years of habit and training had Gerda immediately at Elsa's side unlacing the back of her dress and sliding it down so she could step out of it before even fully processing what Elsa had said. When she did, she came to a sudden stop, "Prince Hans your majesty?" she stuttered, "Why are you securing his release?" Suddenly remembering her place, Gerda slapped a hand over her mouth and bowed deeply, "My apologies your majesty. I did not mean to question your orders. Forgive me."

To Gerda's shock, Elsa laughed lightly, "Oh Gerda! Your reaction is hardly unusual. I have learned many things during my stay. Among them, that Hans' actions were the result of extenuating circumstances, and need to be judged that way." She turned and raised Gerda from her bow, "You have no need to fear me. I trust you. Please, feel free to speak your mind in the privacy of my rooms."

"Your majesty–" Gerda protested.

Elsa interrupted her with a wave, "Enough. As queen, I give you permission. You can tell me your opinion about my decision later. For now, there is someone who has been imprisoned long enough." She released Gerda and crossed the room to pick up a quill and parchment and started drafting a quick letter, "Find Kai and have him deliver this to one of King Robert's pigeon messengers for our royal ship," she instructed, slipped into the royal plural without noticing, "Then have him prepare a carriage and horses for immediate departure. We then need you to pack all our things and have them brought to the gates and loaded. We will return when we have Prince Hans in our custody." She put down the quill and folded the parchment. She then lit a candle to melt the sealing wax and pressed her royal signet into the hot wax on the parchment. Elsa blew on it and waved it to dry the wax as she crossed the room and handed it to Gerda. "I'll return shortly."

"My lady wait!" exclaimed Gerda, "You must wear more than your undergarments!"

Startled, Elsa looked down to see that Gerda was right. "I seem to be getting ahead of myself. Thank you Gerda." She turned and crossed to the armoire where her dresses were kept and pulled out a dark blue travelling dress and cloak. She dressed quickly and called over her shoulder to Gerda as she left the room, "Be quick Gerda! I want to be gone within the hour!"

Elsa was pleasantly surprised to find Prince Niels waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs to Hans' tower. She gave him a polite nod as she approached so the guards would have no reason to suspect and report his complicity in her plans. Niels bowed in acknowledgement of her higher station and dismissed the guards.

"But your highness," the captain of the guard started to protest, "The King ordered us to maintain a guard at all times!"

Niels pulled out a parchment with the royal seal on the bottom and handed it to the guard, "And you are now released of that duty. The prisoner has been ceded into the custody of Queen Elsa of Arendelle and it is her decision and authority to delegate guards appropriately."

The guard looked as though he wanted to protest further, but he was clearly a well trained soldier and recognized the new orders, so he merely snapped to attention, saluted, handed the keys to Prince Niels and called up the stairs to the other guards: "Guards! Dismissed!"

Elsa stood aside and waited imperiously while the guards filed down the stairs and across the hallway. When she could no longer hear their boots ringing on the floor Elsa turned back to Niels and indicated that he should proceed her up the stairs. About halfway up, Niels turned his head to look at her over his shoulder and smiled, "We did it!"

Elsa returned his smile and nodded, "That we did. Let's get the good news to Hans."

Niels hurried up the stairs two at a time, had the door unlocked and open, and had disappeared into the room before Elsa reached the upper landing. She entered just in time to see the last manacle fall from Hans' wrist to the floor. He looked thoroughly bewildered.

"Niels?" Hans croaked, "What's going on?"

Niels smile broadened into an outright grin, "You're free little brother!" He turned to glance at Elsa, "Well, almost. You'll have to face trial in Arendelle, but that's better than rotting in your rooms here."

Hans didn't look anymore sure of what was going on at this news, so Elsa interceded, "I believe you Hans. I believe your letter, so I have Robert's permission to extradite you to Arendelle for trial. I give you my word that you will be exonerated, but I want everyone is Arendelle to know why, otherwise your life will be no easier there than here." As a show of good faith, Elsa stepped closer and extended her hand to help Hans off the floor.

After a minute of simply staring at her, clearly trying to judge the sincerity of her words, Hans reached up and took Elsa's hand. With Niels' help she pulled him to his feet. Hans didn't immediately release her hand. Instead, he held it tighter and looked deeply into her eyes. Elsa could see the stirring of hope behind his eyes. The dead look was already starting to fade. Finally, he gave her hand one final, tight squeeze and released her, "Thank you," he said fervently.

Slightly embarrassed, Elsa had to resist the urge to look away, "You can thank me after it's all over and done. But first I think you need to thank your brother for getting your letter to Anna. Then you'll need to thank Anna for being willing to give you another chance."

Hans shook his head and cleared his throat to try and clear up some of the hoarseness, "I owe them thanks, as well as Joan for being the first to believe me," he said, "But I still owe you thanks for making it happen. No matter who else believed me and helped me, only you were in a position to act to free me."

Elsa nodded in acknowledgement, then quickly turned to Niels, "I have ordered an immediate departure. Get Hans cleaned up and your things ready to go. I want to leave within the hour."

Niels smiled, "Joan is already taking care of it. I'll have Hans ready as soon as possible."


	19. Return

Since receiving Elsa's letter that she was going to have Hans extradited to Arendelle, Anna had kept a constant presence at the docks watching for the royal ship. Though she knew it would be weeks at the earliest before Elsa's return – and she had heard some grumbling from the guards about the extra watch duty – Anna couldn't bring herself to cancel the watch. She was too eager for her sister's return.

So when a messenger entered the council room where she was meeting with the Earl of Boxindale, she immediately jumped out of her chair and was halfway across the room before realizing that she had left the Earl behind. She stumbled to a halt and turned around, blushing furiously, "I'm so sorry Earl! My sister– I mean, Queen Elsa has returned. We'll have to continue this discussion later. If that's okay. Later." Anna was still babbling slightly as she backed out the door with the Earl staring after her in surprise. When she was through the door, she spun quickly and took off at a run for the docks.

Elsa was incredibly relieved to hear the words "Land Ahoy!" called from the top of the crow's nest. Eager as she had been to leave the Southern Isles and King Robert's kingdom, she still did not enjoy being at sea. She had actually spent much of the time locked in her stateroom trying to distract herself with planning what she was going to do when they reached Arendelle.

Though she knew she wouldn't be able to see land from the deck yet, Elsa hurried from her state room anyway. She emerged into the bright sunlight and saw Niels and Joan's three children running excitedly towards the prow of the ship, calling back to their parents and pointing. Elsa turned and waited for Niels and Joan to come up beside her, then walked slowly with them to join their children.

"Where's Hans?" Elsa asked, grabbing Joan's arm for support as the deck pitched unexpectedly, "Sorry."

"It's alright," said Joan, helping Elsa to find her footing again before they continued. "He's on the poop deck jousting with one of your ship's officers," she gestured towards the stern of the ship.

Elsa glanced over her shoulder, but they were still too close to the aftcastle for her to be able to see on top of it.

"Why don't you go ask him yourself your majesty?" asked Niels.

Elsa turned to give Niels a playfully angry look, "I have told you many times now, call me Elsa. There is no one here who is going to be offended or carry reports back to your father that you get along 'too well' with the Queen of the land that is putting your brother on trial."

"Sorry your maj–" Niels stopped himself and smiled sheepishly, "Elsa. Formality is rather important in the Southern Isles."

"It has its place," said Elsa, "But that place is not here."

Elsa, Joan and Niels crossed the foc'sle and joined the children at the very tip of the prow. "I can see it mother!" yelled the oldest (a boy of about seven) after a few minutes of staring at the horizon, "I can see Arendelle!"

"Manners Patrik," scolded Joan gently, "Are you a prince or a deckhand?"

Patrik turned to look at his mother innocently, "But how else will ye hear me over the roar of the sea?" he asked in his best imitation of the sailors' accents. Joan laughed.

Elsa gave Niels a slightly confused look. "Yes, he's named for my brother," he explained, "Patrik and Anne are his godparents." Elsa nodded in understanding.

While Niels and Joan helped their other two children find the land their brother had seen, Elsa gave the horizon a quick scan, noting the sharp profile of her castle outlined against the sky. She then turned towards the stern to look for Hans on the poop deck. His recovery was progressing well. In an effort to rebuild his endurance and strength, Hans had been practicing duelling and wrestling with the ship's crew, as well as running laps around the ship and using canon balls as weights for exercise. When they had first boarded the ship, Hans had barely been able to walk. Now, due to an unexpected storm that had blown them off course, it was two and a half weeks later and he was occasionally beating the first mate when they sparred, though he had yet to beat Niels.

Examining him critically so she wouldn't be surprised by Anna's reaction to seeing Hans for the first time since his imprisonment, Elsa noted that Hans was still underweight. He had the slightly scrawny and wiry look of someone who had lost too much weight in a short period of time. Thankfully, his appetite had returned, so the wasted look was gone from his face, but she knew Anna would still be shocked by the change. Despite her discomfort with being at sea, Elsa was glad for the delay that had allowed Hans to recover a bit more before facing Anna and the trial that awaited him in Arendelle.

"Elsa? Elsa?" Joan's voice broke through Elsa's thoughts. Elsa turned her attention to Joan who asked, "How long will it be until we dock? Nothing against your ship or the hospitalities that it offers, but I'll be glad to be on dry land again."

Elsa smiled sympathetically, "I agree. You would have to ask the captain though." She grimaced, "This is actually my first voyage by ship."

Surprise and curiosity flashed in Joan's eyes, but she quickly hid it. "I suppose I'll just have to be patient then," she said.

Just then, the first mate approached, "Your majesty," he said as he bowed, "The captain sends his regards and requests that you join him on the poop deck. We'll be at anchor in two hours."

"Thank you," said Elsa, gesturing for him to rise. She half turned to Niels and Joan, "Would you care to join me?" she asked.

Niels bowed and gestured for her to lead the way.


	20. Reunion

**/* Author's Note - Another long awaited chapter! Hans and Anna meet again! */**

* * *

Elsa had barely walked down the gangplank to the dock when Anna grabbed her into a tight hug. "Oh Elsa!" Anna cried, "I've missed you so much!" She pulled back with a huge grin on her face, "And I'm definitely happy to hand the running of the kingdom back over to you!"

Elsa gave Anna a mock stern look, "You know you're going to have to do it one day, you might as well learn and get the practice."

Anna was oblivious to Elsa's teasing and started to question her without giving her a chance to answer, "How was the trip? What are the Southern Isles like? Why are you back so soon? I'm really glad you are, but I didn't expect you for a few more weeks! Did you have trouble getting Hans out?" She stopped abruptly and stepped back, suddenly nervous, "Is he here?"

Obviously pleased, Elsa smiled and stepped aside, turning so she was beside Anna and could wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Yes Anna," she said, gesturing with her free hand to the top of the gangplank where more people were disembarking, "He's right there."

Anna was so nervous and excited that she could feel herself shaking. She reached up to hold Elsa's hand as an anchor, staring fixedly at the place where Elsa had pointed, watching and waiting for Hans' appearance. First to come were three young children, followed by a couple who were clearly their parents. For one terrifying moment, Anna thought that the man was Hans, then she realized that though his build was almost identical to Hans, his hair was a very fair blond. As she watched, the man slipped his arm around his wife to help her off the ship. She smiled softly up at him and Anna felt a pang at the love that was practically visible between the two. _Is that how Hans feels about me?_ she wondered.

She was so busy watching the couple that Anna didn't notice the next person to disembark the ship for a moment. When she turned her eyes back to the top of the plank, she almost dismissed him before letting out a gasp of shock and stumbling forward two steps before being caught by Elsa who saved her from falling off the edge of the dock.

Hans, though much improved, still bore obvious signs of his confinement. His skin was unnaturally pale, shadows were visible under his eyes, and his entire body looked too thin. His cheeks and eyes were sunken, making his cheek bones and jaw stand out. He was covered from his neck to his feet so Anna couldn't see any other definition, but she was sure the rest of him was as bony as his face. She felt tears fill her eyes and wasn't sure if she could face him knowing that it was her fault he had spent the last year in prison. Just as she was sure she would have to run away in shame, Elsa gave her a sideways hug and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"You have to meet him," she said, "I know what you're feeling right now, I am ashamed of myself too, but you have to face him now. He needs you."

Anna took a couple of deep breaths and blinked back the tears. She nodded resolutely and stepped forward and away from Elsa's support. Elsa was right: Hans had faced his punishment for her, so it was the least she could do to meet him now. She was conscious of the stares of those around her as she moved to the end of the gangplank to wait for him.

Despite his frail appearance, Hans moved confidently down the plank and dropped to one knee in front of Anna when he reached the bottom without hesitation. "My lady," he said fervently, "It is an honour to be received by you again. I betrayed your trust and offer my deepest and most heartfelt apologies. I know I cannot undo what I did, but I have regretted the pain that I caused every day since. It is my joy to see you alive and prospering. I place my fate in your hands. Do with me what you will, nothing else matters." His manners were slightly less polished than the first time that she met him, and he was unusually formal – reminding Anna of his first formal apology when he ran into her with his horse – but his sincerity was beyond doubt.

Anna reached out to take his hands and raised him to stand. "I'm afraid I can't determine your fate," she said, "But for my part, you are forgiven. Completely and wholeheartedly." Then, unable to maintain the decorum that she had never really appreciated, Anna impulsively wrapped her arms tightly around Hans' neck and hugged him. She felt him stiffen in surprise before hugging her back. Anna turned her head in to hide her mouth and whisper quietly so no one would hear her, "I'm so glad you're back."

Hans quivered in her arms for moment before turning his own face inwards. She felt his eyelashes brush her cheek as he closed his eyes and whispered, "I love you Anna. I'm so glad you're alive."


	21. Adjustments

Hans was woken the next morning by the sound of knocking at his door. Thinking that it was either a servant or the physician who had been caring for him on the ship, he called out for them to enter. A moment later he was scrambling for a robe when he heard Anna's voice, "Hans! I brought you your favourite food! Sandwiches!" In his haste, Hans got tangled up in the sheets and fell to the floor with a loud thud. He stifled a grunt of pain. "Hans?" came Anna's questioning voice.

"Just hold on a moment please!" he called out, but it was too late. Anna's face appeared in the doorway to his bedchamber to see him in his nightclothes, tangled in bed sheets.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. Hans watched her face flame and knew his own was likely the same colour, "Oh I'm sorry Hans! I thought you were already awake. You said you were an early riser…" her voice trailed off uncertainly.

"It's alright," Hans said, detangling himself from the linens and standing up. He grabbed the nearest piece of clothing he could find – a travelling cloak – and wrapped it around himself. "I usually am. The ship just made me–" he hesitated before finishing his sentence, "Uncomfortable."

"Don't you like sailing?" asked Anna, wrinkling her brow at him.

Hans looked away in embarrassment, "It's not the sailing that I don't like," he admitted, "It was being confined to a limited space."

Anna let out a soft 'Oh' of understanding. "Well," she said, obviously trying to change the subject, "Why don't you come and eat something?" She backed out into the main sitting area and Hans followed.

"Just put the plate over there with the other one Olaf," said Anna.

Hans turned to see who she was talking to and froze for a second. Before he could think it through, Hans dove across the room, grabbed his sword from the table where he'd left it, unsheathed it and dropped the scabbard, and jumped between Anna and Olaf. "Back off!" he yelled.

Olaf looked at Hans in bewilderment and Anna tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder, "Um, Hans? Are you alright?"

"Don't worry princess," said Hans over his shoulder without taking his eyes off of Olaf, "I will protect you."

"Protect me?" said Anna in confusion, "From Olaf? He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Hans watched Olaf for a few heartbeats while Olaf looked rather nervous, then shifted to glance back at Anna, "The last talking snowman I met tried to knock me off a cliff!" he said stiffly. Then he looked back at the small snowman in front of him, "Of course, that one was a lot bigger."

Olaf's face brightened, "You mean my brother Marshmallow!" he exclaimed, "He is the best big brother a snowman could have!"

"Marshmallow?" said Hans incredulously, "What kind of name is 'Marshmallow' for that monster?"

Anna placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "He _did_ throw me off a cliff," she said, "But he's a lot nicer now since Elsa let him keep her crown. She made a new one out of ice."

Hans straightened slowly and lowered his sword. He looked back at Olaf in confusion, then turned to Anna again with a silent question in his eyes.

Anna couldn't suppress her smile, "Elsa made them both," she said, "Trust me though, Olaf is a sweetheart. Give him a chance."

Hand looked at Olaf sceptically. Olaf smiled and waved from a safe distance, "Hi! My name's Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

"I'm Hans," said Hans.

"Oh I know," said Olaf proudly, "Anna has told me all about you." Hans looked a bit worried, so Olaf hastily reassured him, "All good things, all good things!"

"I'm sorry but, why is he here?" Hans asked Anna.

"Oh I'm here because Elsa said it wouldn't be appropriate for Anna to come visit you without a chapel– chaper– chaperine– chaperoon– What was that word…" Olaf trailed off.

"Chaperone?" Hans asked.

"That's the one!" said Olaf excitedly, "Wow! You are smart!"

Hans gave Anna an uncomfortable look, "He's our chaperone?"

Anna just laughed, "Yes. It's mostly because of your trial." At Hans' confused look, Anna elaborated, "Most of Arendelle still thinks you're a power-hungry would-be murderer. So I can't be with you without some kind of guard or chaperone. Using Olaf is Elsa's concession to be able to say I'm not alone with you while still showing you and the people in the castle at least that she believes you."

Hans nodded slowly in understanding, "That's very considerate of her. I'll have to thank her later today."

"Or you could do it now and get it out of the way," said a voice from the hall door.

Hans and Anna turned toward the door and Hans immediately dropped into a low bow on seeing Elsa. "Your Majesty," he said respectfully.

Anna giggled quietly and Hans was about to give her a reproachful look when he stopped himself. It was so easy to relax into the comfortable friendship that they had developed the first time they met, but he wasn't sure enough of his standing with her to risk to it. Instead, he quickly wiped his face blank while it was still hidden by his bow.

Hans watched Elsa's feet as she approached, then felt her hand as she raised him from his bow, "I'm not 'Your Majesty' to you Hans," she said, "I'm just Elsa."

Hans straightened and met her gaze, "I beg your pardon for contradicting you Your Majesty," Hans said formally, "But at least until after the trial I think I do need to use your proper title." Elsa shook her head but didn't protest further. "I do offer you my most sincere thanks for your consideration in sending Olaf to be my guard and chaperone."

This time a smile played at the corners of Elsa's mouth, "Actually," she admitted, "What Anna told you is only part of the reason I chose him. I also picked Olaf because I thought you could use some cheering up and good company. Barring Anna – who obviously couldn't do the job – Olaf is the happiest person I know." She gave him a mock stern look, "So relax, smile, and enjoy his company!" she ordered, then smiled again to show she was joking.

Hans couldn't help his answering smile. It was the first time he had smiled since the day he met Anna. Between the eternal winter, Anna's frozen heart and being imprisoned, he'd had no reasons to smile. It felt awkward and unnatural, but he was sure he felt that he get used to it again.


	22. Trial

Wanting to clear Hans' name as quickly as possible so that he could get on with his recovery, Elsa had scheduled the trial for three days after their return. Even that delay was only to allow time for people who lived further from the castle to travel in if they wanted. Since the trial was predominantly about clearing Hans' name for the people, Elsa wanted as many people to attend as possible.

So, three days later, a large crowd could be seen gathering in the city proper and making their way towards the royal castle.

Olaf's company had gone a long way toward cheering Hans' mood and helping him feel more relaxed. Elsa was required to keep him confined until he was officially cleared of the charges, so he had been forced to stay in his assigned rooms. Though this confinement was a thousand times more lenient than his last one – he wasn't chained to a wall, he had regular good food, he could bathe, and he had books and visitors to keep him busy – it still made him edgy, so Olaf's bright and playful nature had made a huge impact.

Though Niels or Joan visited him at least once a day, Anna and Elsa hadn't visited him again since his first day back in Arendelle. Elsa was busy with the usual responsibilities of a returned monarch as well as preparing for his trial, and Anna was bringing Elsa up to speed on the last couple of months as well as taking care of the new responsibilities that she had adopted. Hans understood, but he missed Anna's face. He was looking forward to having the chance to get to know her better.

He watched though his window as the people filed into the courtyard. The sun was shining brightly and glittered off the icy podium Elsa had made for the trial. For a moment, he scanned the yard for a gallows before reminding himself that Elsa believed him. Besides, she had given her word that he wouldn't be killed or maimed.

Olaf came up beside him and jumped up to sit on the window ledge. He grabbed his feet and wiggled them back and forth, "Isn't it a beautiful day?" he asked, "Just look at that sun."

Hans nodded in agreement, "Too bad it's going to be marred by the trial of a murderer."

"You didn't kill anyone," Olaf said.

"I sure tried," said Hans despondently.

"But only because you thought she'd killed Anna," said Olaf, "I would have been upset if Anna died too."

Hans shook his head and turned away from the window, "So what?" he said, "Revenge is hardly a good reason."

Elsa's voice came from the door, "No, but it is an understandable one." This time she stopped him with a gesture before he could bow. "Maybe a confession will help," she said.

"Confession?" he asked in confusion, "About what?"

Elsa crossed the room to sit in an armchair near the fireplace and invited Hand to take a seat as well. He sat down opposite her and waited. "Part of the reason I was willing to accept your explanation is because I am as guilty as you." She held up a hand to stop the question that he was about to ask and continued, "I also ran away when people needed me. Except in my case, it was an entire kingdom, not just one person. I also lied to them for years. Hiding in my castle and not telling them about my powers. And when people came to challenge me, I nearly killed two of them."

"That was self-defence," protested Hans, "That's far better than revenge!"

Elsa shook her head, "I could have stopped them without killing them. I could have caged them in ice. I could have made a dome to protect myself. I could have frozen their hands or their weapons so they were useless. There was no reason for me to kill them. It's all about self-control and being responsible, and there is nothing that you did that I didn't also do. So how can I blame you when no one has blamed me?"

Hans nodded. "Thank you for telling me that," he said, "It does help me feel better." He suddenly looked away in shame, "Truthfully, I did wonder whether you were maybe lying about believing me so that you could bring me back here and punish me yourself," he admitted.

"Elsa would never do that!" interrupted Olaf, "That would be just mean!"

Hans and Elsa smiled. "Thank you Olaf," said Elsa. She stood and Hans followed suite. "Now, it's time to show the people of Arendelle that while you made mistakes, you are not what they thought, and you have paid for them."

The trial was fairly short. The charges of attempted murder and usurpation were read. Hans pled guilty to the first and innocent to the second. He was allowed to present his defence and explanation of his actions while everyone listened. There was some murmuring of disbelief, but it was silenced by a wave of Elsa's hand. Niels was allowed to stand and witness Hans' character and circumstances leading up to the events in question. More murmuring broke out, but quickly stopped when Elsa stood.

"People of Arendelle," she said, her voice ringing regally throughout the courtyard, "We have been to the Southern Isles and have investigated Hans' claims. We hereby declare that we are satisfied with the defence that he has presented. We clear him of the charge of usurpation. As to the charge of attempted murder, we do find him guilty, however we also recognize the extenuating circumstances that led to an impulsive and unplanned decision. We sentence him to ten months in prison. However," Elsa was forced to raise her voice to again silence the crowd, "In light of the fact that he has spent the last year imprisoned in his homeland, we do hereby declare his sentence served and release him." Elsa turned to Hans and extended her sceptre, "You are free. Our law is satisfied, and your crimes are repaid. We hereby invite you to remain in Arendelle as our guest."

Hans bowed deeply to Elsa, "Thank you Your Majesty."

A squeal brought Hans' head back up just in time to see Anna jump off the dais and throw her arms around him in a hug. After a shocked second, he hugged her back before she suddenly disengaged, blushing furiously. "Sorry," she said.

Hans didn't even try to stop his smile, "Don't be."


	23. Fantasy?

For the first couple of days after the trial, Anna avoided Hans. She was feeling embarrassed about her outburst at the end and extremely confused. Even though she now understood Hans' actions, it didn't erase her previous feelings or experiences and she couldn't figure out how she felt about Hans. She had been attracted to him from the first time she saw him, but she had also spent the last twelve months thinking he was a self-serving, manipulative, frozen-hearted jerk. So was she just rebounding from Kristoff and desperately looking for love again? Or was the attraction she had never managed to quash based on a real connection?

She was also avoiding Elsa, because she was pretty sure that her sister would tell her the same advice she had given about Kristoff: Anna needed to talk to Hans. Anna just wasn't feeling she could face that. And she didn't want to mislead Hans either. He loved her, so what if she spent time with him and discovered she didn't love him back? That didn't seem fair to him.

Were her feelings real? Or were they just a fantasy? Anna wavered back and forth, unable to be sure.

Three days later, feeling trapped and frustrated with herself, Anna found the nearest window and escaped out onto the roof. She expected to find it deserted, so she was startled and lost her footing when she heard Hans' voice. "Anna! I was wondering–" he cut himself off and dove forwards to catch her as she started to slide down the roof. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Anna clung to his hand while stabilizing herself, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect anyone else to be up here."

Hans looked away awkwardly, "I have a hard time being indoors since what happened." He shifted slightly to better brace himself while Anna lowered herself to a safer sitting position on the roof peak. "I remembered you bringing me up here and thought I would come look again. I was hoping the height and view would make me feel less trapped."

As Anna let go of Hans' hand, she suddenly realized that what she felt was the brush of skin. She looked down to confirm what she had felt: Hans wasn't wearing gloves. "When did you stop wearing gloves?" she asked.

Hans looked embarrassed, "Well, I didn't exactly have any gloves while I was locked up," he said, "And the reasons that I used to wear them aren't good enough anymore."

Feeling confused and curious, Anna took Hans' hands without thinking and pulled him down to sit beside her. She turned his hands over and examined them and could find no obvious reason why he would have kept them covered. She looked up to catch his eyes without letting go, "Why did you?"

"Truthfully?" he asked, then sighed as she nodded, "Because it was a way to isolate myself. Touching people was too personal. It hurt that no one in my family wanted to be close to me, so I decided to not let myself get close enough to anyone else to let them hurt me. It was just another layer. There's something very–" he hesitated, "Personal about touching someone else's skin."

Anna felt her cheeks colour as she suddenly became more aware of the warmth in his fingers. She had never thought about it, but Hans was right. It felt very different to touch skin than fabric. Realizing that she was still holding his hand and that it could be easily misconstrued, Anna dropped it and stood up to pace, hoping to hide her embarrassment and discomfort. She couldn't help but notice that Hans smiled slightly at her sudden movement.

"It's alright you know," he said.

Anna stopped to look at him in confusion, "What is?"

"If you don't love me," he said simply. Anna was dumbfounded, so Hans continued, "I love you, but it's alright if you don't love me. It's perfectly normal considering everything that has happened. You have changed my entire life and turned me into a completely different person that I am actually proud to be. There is no way I couldn't love you." He stood to look her directly in the eyes and started to place his hands on her shoulders, then apparently thought better of it as he dropped them back to his sides. "But– _you_ don't have to love _me_. You don't even have to know how you feel about me. However, if it's alright with you, I would like to be friends."

Anna shook her head and a hurt look flashed across Hans' face. "No wait! I'm not saying 'no'," she said quickly, "I was just thinking that I don't deserve to be your friend." Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I've been avoiding you since the trial when I hugged you," she confessed, "I'm so bad with this love thing that I'm afraid of getting it wrong and tricking myself into thinking I feel something I don't. And I really didn't want to hurt you. But I have hurt you by avoiding you, so really I've just been self-centred and stupid."

This time Hans didn't stop himself from placing his hands on Anna's shoulders and guiding her chin up to look at him. "No you haven't," he said, "I understand why you're scared. Love is a big thing. _Especially_ when you don't have any previous experience to learn from. In some ways, I'm in the same situation as you." He ran his hands down her arms to clasp her hands and squeeze them, "It's going to be alright. We have lots of time to get to know each other, and I promise that I won't try to force you into anything. You decide how you feel, what you want to do about it, and when you want to do it."

Anna squeezed his hands in return, "Thank you Hans. I appreciate that."

Hans released one hand to gesture at the grand vista that surrounded them, "Then perhaps as my friend you would be so kind as to introduce me to this land that you call home."

Anna let go of Hans' other hand and sat back down on the roof, then started to point out and describe their surroundings.


	24. Empty

**/* Author's note - Sorry for the longer than usual delay. An appreciated review commented that Hans was kind of blank, so I had to spend some time figuring him out. Hopefully this chapter will give you a good idea of where I think he would be after all that he's gone through. And explain why I think he really would be a bit blank. */**

After Anna was called away to fulfil some royal duty or another, Hans was left alone on the roof again. He found himself returning to the same place he had been ever since the trial had ended: running mental circles trying to figure out who he was and what he was doing. For almost his entire life, he had defined himself by his search for power. Every skill that he learned, every action that he took, was carefully calculated to bring him closer to a place where he would have real power, respect, and love from his subjects. Now that he had realized the foolishness and hollowness of that goal, Hans felt lost.

He was trying to hide his feelings from those around him, but he knew his brother had already seen through him. Just that morning, Niels had been challenging him about it again. Hans shifted uncomfortably as he remembered their fencing match.

* * *

_"Come on Hans! You're not even trying!" said Niels in exasperation after he landed his fifth consecutive hit on Hans, "I haven't beaten you this badly since you were 12!"_

_Hans flinched, "Sorry," he said, "I guess I'm just distracted today."_

_Niels snorted and circled around again, "Or maybe–" he lunged and Hans turned to avoid his thrust, "–you just–" he spun and swung again. Hans parried. "–don't care–" He pushed against Hans' blade to force him off balance and swung under his guard, "–about winning!" Niels' sword landed point first at Hans' heart and they both froze._

_Hans scowled and knocked Niels' sword aside. He turned his back to take a few paces away in an attempt to hide his irritation, "Lay off Niels, it's none of your business."_

_Niels straightened up, planted his sword on the floor and leaned on the pommel. "You are my brother," he said, "And I didn't spend the last year working to get you out of the Southern Isles – out of _prison_ – to give you another chance at life for you to waste it doing nothing!"_

_Hans swung around and punched Niels in the jaw. His sword clattered to the ground behind him and Niels staggered. "If you think I don't appreciate that you're dead wrong!" he spat, "But what am I supposed to do now? You have _no idea _what it's like to be without a purpose! Right when you gave up on power, you had it handed to you. Along with marriage to the woman you love! I have nothing!" Hans' eyes blazed and he was breathing harder than when they were fighting. Gradually the crazed look faded and he dropped onto the floor beside his sword with his head in his hands, "You should have just left me to rot," he moaned, "What am I going to do now? What _am_ I now?"_

_Rubbing his jaw, Niels lowered himself down beside Hans and gently nudged Hans' shoulder with his own. "You'll figure it out," he said._

_There was anger in his eyes again when Hans lifted his head to glare at his brother, "You have no idea–"_

_"Of course I don't," Niels interrupted, "That's not the point. The point is, you're free. Elsa has absolved you. More importantly, Anna forgave you. And you now have the chance to do something better with yourself. That's the point. So you'll figure it out."_

_Hans went back to staring at his hands. "And what if I don't?" he asked, "What if I just end up being a useless, empty shell? Anna will never love me or marry me. So I'm free. Big deal." He stood quickly, scooping up his sword and stomped across the room to collect his sheath._

* * *

Niels had tried to stop him, but Hans just shoved him aside angrily and kept going. That was when he had ended up on the roof. Between his arrival and Anna stumbling across him, Hans had shifted from anger back to depression. Anna's presence had been pleasant enough that it had temporarily lifted his spirits, and it was refreshing to focus on her problems instead of his own. Unfortunately, even her problems had led back to his. The reminder about how he had stopped wearing gloves. Her concern about whether or not she truly loved him. He had been sincere when he'd said it was okay if she didn't love him, but if she didn't, then he really had no purpose in life.

Fed up with himself, Hans slid recklessly down the roof to the window he'd used to get there and re-entered the castle. Maybe he could clear his mind if he took his horse out for a gallop.


	25. Swordplay

The next morning Anna was up early and knocking on Hans' door again. When there was no answer she hesitated, wondering if she should peek in or not. Just as she made up her mind, Olaf wandered past. His head turned 180º to watch her as he kept walking, "Hans is already up and out for the day," he said as he waved and disappeared around the corner.

Anna sighed in disappointment. She decided to have a look around the castle to see if Hans was exploring, or perhaps had gone to the library. An hour later, she had seen no sign of him and was ready to give up in disgust. She had no idea where he was, but evidently he was not in the castle. Just as she decided to go outside and get some fresh air herself, Anna heard a strange ringing noise coming from down the hallway. Curious, she walked towards it to investigate. She pushed open the door to the ballroom and was met by the unexpected sight of Hans fencing with his brother while one of his nephews watched.

Relieved to have found him but not wanting to interrupt, Anna squeezed through the door and followed the contour of the room until she was beside the young boy. She then leaned over and whispered quietly in his ear, "Who's winning?"

The boy jumped and nearly screamed, but he quickly clapped his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't distract his father and uncle. His eyes were wide and startled as he turned to look at Anna, "You scared me!" he exclaimed.

Anna was instantly contrite, "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to. I just don't know anything about swords or fighting, and you looked like you do. I'm Anna."

The startled look faded from his eyes to be replaced by a curious one, "You're Princess Anna?" he asked, "I'm Patrik. The son of Prince Niels and Duchess Joan."

A rueful look crossed Anna's face, "I take it you've heard of me?"

Patrik nodded, "Yes, I've heard my parents talking about how you are Hans' true love and that he completely changed because of you."

A blush coloured Anna's cheeks and she had to look away for a moment. Wanting to change the subject, she looked back out to the duelists, "So you didn't answer my first question," she said, "Who's winning?"

Accepting her redirection, Patrik also turned back to the swordsmen, "My father," he said simply.

Anna raised an eyebrow, "Is that an impartial assessment?" she teased.

Patrik mimicked her expression, "Of course. Though my father does have an advantage since Uncle Hans is still recovering from being chained to a wall for a year."

The blood drained from Anna's face, "Chained to a wall?" she said incredulously, "Elsa didn't mention that!" She wavered on the spot as though she was going to run over to Hans immediately, but a gentle touch on her elbow stopped her. She turned to see Hans' sister-in-law had joined them along with her other son and daughter. Her look was sympathetic, but she didn't say a word to Anna, only bowed slightly in acknowledgement before calling out to the two men.

"I think that's enough swordplay for one day gentlemen," she said, "You have company."

Hans and Niels straightened from their fighting stances to turn to them. Anna noticed that Hans looked self-conscious on seeing her and wondered whether this had been a bad idea after all. Niels crossed to the wall to pick up a towel and tossed another to Hans. They both mopped their necks and brows before joining the small group of observers.

"Your highness," said Niels, bowing to Anna, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh please," protested Anna, "There's no need to be so formal with me. Anna is fine."

Niels inclined his head in acknowledgement, "Anna then. To what do we owe this pleasure? Do you enjoy swordplay?"

Anna glanced at Hans, who was breathing harder than Niels. "Actually," she admitted, "Since I've been in the castle for most of my life and don't have any brothers, I don't know anything about sword fighting."

"Well," said Hans with a rueful glance at Niels, "We certainly didn't have that problem."

Niels laughed, "Maybe you would enjoy a demonstration?" he asked. Then he half-turned to give Hans a mischievous look, "Then again, perhaps now would be a bad time. I've already worn you out."

The look Hans gave his brother in return was scathing, "What makes you think you'll win?" he asked. He walked confidently back out to the middle of the ball room and took up a fighter's stance, "To quote the French, En Garde!"

Niels leaned over to give his wife a quick kiss, then walked back out to face Hans and adopted his own fighting stance, "En guard!" he returned.

There was a brief pause while the two men sized each other up, then Niels lunged and Anna was lost. The blurring, spinning blades and almost rhythmic ringing of steel on steel combined with their movements confused Anna. At times they seemed almost to be dancing, or least following some sort of choreography, but then one or the other would break the pattern and the illusion would be jarringly shattered. After watching for ten minutes, Anna was forced to admit to herself that she had no idea who was winning or if they were evenly matched.

The unexpected sound of steel striking padding and sudden exhale had Anna on her tip-toes, trying to see who had been hit and if that meant the match was over. When they continued to fight without an apparent pause, Anna turned to Joan, "Who's winning?" she asked in bewilderment.

Joan laughed lightly. It was a cheerful and friendly sound, so Anna was not offended, "At the moment, no one," she said.

Anna turned back to the men. Hans forced Niels backwards and they temporarily disengaged. He opened his arms in an invitation, "Come on," he called, "_Fight me._"

"I don't want to embarrass you in front of the woman you love when you're not back to full strength," said Niels calmly without changing his stance.

Hans glared at his brother, "If you won't take this seriously, we'll _both_ look like fools. I'd rather lose honestly than win by pity, regardless of who's watching."

Niels nodded his head slightly, "So be it." He swung forward and Hans was forced to quickly parry. Despite being slightly off balance, Hans managed to hold his ground and return the attack, making Niels step backwards to restabilize himself.

The intricate and confusing dance continued, broken regularly by the sword of steel against steel, and occasionally by the sound of steel on padding or the rare grunt. Anna watched as Hans struck Niels' knuckles with the hilt of his sword, causing Niels to drop his blade. Niels rolled backwards to avoid the follow up strike, than dove forward again to reclaim his weapon. Niels went on the offensive, attacking in a regular pattern that moved between high and low and left and right, but just as Anna figured out his pattern, he suddenly changed it in an attempt to catch Hans off guard. Though his quick shift showed he was expecting the change of direction, Hans wasn't quite fast enough and Niels succeeded in knocking his sword across the room. Before Hans could disengage, Niels tripped his feet, knocked him down and placed his sword at Hans' neck. "Do you yield?" he asked.

Hans put his open hands out to the sides in surrender, "I yield."

Niels stepped back, lowered his sword, and offered his hand to help Hans stand. "Good bout," he said with a smile, "You did better than I expected."

Hans flashed a small, somewhat apprehensive smile at Anna, "I had good motivation. My skills and reflexes just aren't quite ready to keep up yet."

They rejoined the women and children and Niels threw his arm around his wife. She wrinkled her nose and pushed it off jokingly, "How about you take a bath first?" she suggested. Niels laughed and put his arm back around her to hug her. With his sons clamouring around them begging to try some of the moves they had just seen, the family left. "See you tomorrow!" called Niels as he pushed open the door to leave. Hans waved in acknowledgement.

Still smiling, Anna turned to Hans, "You did very well," she said, "Though I really can't say I'm any kind of authority to be taken seriously."

Hans laughed, though it sounded slightly forced to Anna. "That's alright," he said, "I'm not sure I qualify as much an authority right now either."

Suddenly nervous, Anna bit her lip and looked down. She took a deep breath and looked back up at him squarely, "Hans?" she asked, "Would you mind if I come and watch you in the mornings?"

Hans tipped his head slightly in confusion, "No. Can I ask why?"

"Well, you can get to know someone by watching them," she explained, "By watching you fight I'll get to see if you're a hard worker, if you're easily discouraged, how you handle losing," a sly smile crossed her face, "And eventually, how you handle winning."

A surprised laugh escaped him and Anna was pleased to note that this one sounded genuine. "Well I can hardly say no to that. For now though, how would you like to go for a canter through the forest? After I bathe of course."

Anna smiled brightly, "I'd love that."


	26. Riding

While Hans was bathing, Anna changed into a green riding dress with a split skirt and a brown cloak and went down to the kitchen to get a light lunch to pack in their saddle bags. She had their two horses saddled and ready to go in the courtyard and passed the rest of the time by braiding her horses' mane.

Hans came striding across the courtyard in worn brown leather riding clothes. Something about them looked odd to Anna. When he reached her, she realized that it was because they didn't quite fit him properly. "Uh… Hans?" she hesitated, "Not to be indiscreet, but why don't your clothes fit properly?"

Hans glanced down, "Well," he said slowly, "That would be because they aren't mine. All I was allowed to bring when we left the Southern Isles was what I was wearing. So I had to borrow these from Niels."

"We can fix that!" Anna exclaimed. She started back towards to castle, "I'll just find Gerda and she can get right on finding some proper clothes for you and having them tailored and–"

Hans grabbed Anna's hand to stop her and she was again acutely aware of the warm, soft feel of his skin against hers, "Not right now Anna. These are just fine for today, and I would really like to spend the day with you. Not with a tailor."

His eyes held hers with such intensity that Anna could feel the blush creeping up her face, "Okay."

As she mounted up, Anna's eyes scanned the castle. She spotted her sister up on a balcony and it took a few seconds to identify the person with her as Joan. She sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Hans asked.

Anna shook herself, "No, of course not."

Hans followed her gaze and let out a soft 'ah' of understanding, "Queen Elsa and Joan became good friends while your sister was visiting."

They cantered gently across the bridge and out of the town before Anna responded. "But they have nothing in common!" she protested, "Elsa's single, a queen, has no children, and doesn't seem to be interested in changing that. Joan is the opposite. What responsibilities does she have outside of her family? What do they even have to talk about?"

"More than you might think," said Hans sympathetically, "I think it's their differences that make them such good friends. Women can't rule in the Southern Isles, so Joan enjoys being with someone who has had the kind of freedom she can only dream of. She was very lucky that she was able to marry someone she loved. If Niels had been anyone other than a prince, she wouldn't have had that chance."

"That's terrible!" Anna said in horror.

Hans shrugged, turning away so that Anna couldn't see his face to read how he felt, "That's life."

Anna shook her head, "I guess I can see why she would be interested in Elsa and her life here. But what about Elsa?"

Hans gave her a knowing look, "Are you jealous?" he asked.

"Jealous?" scoffed Anna, "Of course not! Why would I be jealous of my sister?"

"Not your sister," he said, "Of Joan because of her relationship with your sister."

Anna wouldn't meet his gaze and didn't answer. "Why do you always refer to them as 'the Southern Isles'?" she asked, "You never call it home."

The silence before he answered spoke volumes to Anna about what he wasn't saying. She fidgeted, but refused to give in to the pressure to answer his question. Eventually, Hans spoke, "Well, before your sister's coronation it barely qualified as a home in most ways. I wasn't particularly welcome there. And now? It's where I came from. But it's certainly not my home." He shrugged in an unsuccessful attempt at nonchalance, "Right now I'd say I'm homeless."

Anna nudged her horse over closer to his so she could bump him slightly in a friendly way, "You're always welcome in Arendelle," she said shyly.

Hans forced a smile, "Thanks," he said, "But it's not the same. It's like I told you when we first met, I've been searching my whole life to find my place. But I am not going to try and force myself into somewhere."

"You're not forcing yourself in!" Anna protested, "I'm inviting you!"

Hans reined in his horse and Anna followed suit. He turned his horse to be able to look at her straight on and Anna found herself again captivated by his intense gaze. "Anna, thank you," he said earnestly, "But I love you. And because I love you, my place will only be with you if you love me too. Otherwise, me loving you means that my place will be somewhere out of your way so I can't interfere in your life."

"Well for now you're not going anywhere," said Anna firmly. She snapped the reins and dug in her heels to urge her horse into a trot.

Hans pulled his horse's head around and urged his steed to follow. "You know," he said, "You're still avoiding the issue of your sister."

"I know," said Anna, "But you're right. I can't really complain that Elsa has other friends. It's good for her. I just wish I had some more friends too. Ones who weren't constantly in awe of the fact that I'm a princess."

Before he could reply, Anna snapped the reins again and spurred her horse on to a gallop. "Hya!" Hans called to his horse and sped after her.


	27. Panic

Hans found himself less angry and depressed each time he was able to be with Anna. She would join him in the ballroom each morning to watch as he fenced or wrestled, or they would meet in the garden where he would go running and she would laughingly try to keep up. Afterwards, Anna always had something planned so they could spend time together. They went horseback riding, read books, discussed the politics of ruling a country, walked in the garden and anything else Anna could imagine. In many ways, it reminded him of the first day they met and how the night had passed so quickly in her company.

One blissful week later, Hans' breakfast arrived with a note that quickly brought him back to earth: Elsa had scheduled a ball. And he and Niels would be the guests of honour.

Though most of Arendelle had accepted Elsa's ruling about his innocence, Hans had noticed some apprehension and nervousness among the castle staff and villagers, so he tried to avoid public events and scenes whenever possible. Since he had been spending so much time either in recovery or getting to know Anna, he had been mostly successful. There was no way to maintain that when he was a guest of honour at a formal ball.

Elsa must have anticipated his reaction, because the first thing he heard after reading the card on his tray was the singsong voice of Olaf.

"Hans?" called Olaf as he stuck his head around the edge of the door, "Are you still here? Oh there you are!" Olaf bounced cheerfully across the room.

"Good morning Olaf," said Hans, trying hard to hide his mounting panic.

"So did you hear the news yet?" said Olaf as he hopped up onto a chair and grabbed his feet to wiggle them in excitement, "We're having a ball! I'm so excited. I've never been to a ball before. There'll be dancing… and music… and chocolate…" He tilted his head and looked at Hans, "Anna is always talking about this chocolate thing. I'm hoping I'll get to try some."

"That's great Olaf," said Hans, "I'm sure you'll enjoy it." He turned his back on Olaf and walked into his sleeping chamber to look through his wardrobe. Thanks to Anna's interference, he actually had his own clothing that fit properly instead of having to borrow Niels'. He pushed shirts and pants aside without really looking at them, just hoping Olaf would leave. Instead, Olaf followed him into the room.

"Ooo!" said Olaf in excitement, "Is that what you're going to wear for the ball?"

Hans refocused on what Olaf was looking at to see a bathrobe in his hands. Despite his panic, a snort of laughter escaped him which set off a chain reaction so that Hans found himself sitting on the floor laughing uncontrollably while Olaf nervously patted him on the head.

When he finally got his voice back, Hans wiped tears from his eyes and turned to Olaf, "Thank you Olaf, I really needed that."

Looking confused, Olaf said, "You're welcome. But um… what did I do?"

Hans pushed himself off the floor and crossed to his bed to sit where he chuckled for a moment before answering. "I have been panicking ever since I saw Elsa's note that I was supposed to be a guest of honour at her ball. Your suggestion that I wear a bath–" Hans had to stop for a moment to prevent himself from collapsing with laughter all over again. He cleared his throat and tried again, "A bathrobe put such a funny image in my head that I couldn't help but laugh." He smiled warmly at Olaf, "I needed that to help me relax."

"Relax?" asked Olaf curiously, "About what? Anna said she got to know you at a ball and that it was great! So why would a ball make your nervous?"

The smile faded from his face and Hans could feel his apprehension creeping back in, "Because I'm not the same person now as I was at that ball. Back then it was all about impressing people in order to manipulate them and gain power. I don't even know what I should do at a ball now!"

Olaf jumped up and down, "Oh I know! I know! Dancing! Anna said you're a_ great_ dancer."

The colour drained from Hans' face. "I didn't even think about dancing!" he moaned, "I haven't danced since Elsa's coronation." He buried his face in his hands, "This is going to be a disaster."

Footsteps sounded in the sitting room and Niels voice called out, "Hans? Are you still in here? I've been waiting for you." Niels appeared at his bedchamber door. "There you are! Why aren't you dressed for fencing yet?" he asked in surprise.

Olaf bounded over to Niels and Hans raised his face. "Good morning Niels!" Olaf said cheerfully, then leaned in close and said in a loud whisper, "Hans is worried about Elsa's ball. He doesn't think he remembers how to dance."

Niels looked at Hans in surprise, "You were always the best dancer of the lot of us. Except maybe Malcolm," he conceded, "And Duncan. Alright, forget that. Still, dancing has never been a challenge for you, why are you worried now?"

Hans looked at Niels incredulously, "Let's see, because I haven't danced in about a year and a half? Most of which was spent chained to a wall in a locked room? Not many opportunities to dance there."

Niels leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest, "Hmm, good point," he said. "I'm sure Joan would be willing to help you practice." A mischievous look flashed in his eyes, "Or you could always ask Anna."

Hans shook his head emphatically, "No way. I'm not stepping on Anna's feet as I try to remember how to dance."

Niels shrugged and pushed off the doorframe, "Suit yourself," he said, "Either way, I expect you in the ballroom in five minutes, or my sword will take it out of your hide."

Hans glared at his brother's retreating back, but stood and returned to his wardrobe to find his fencing clothes.


	28. Practice

Hans almost reconsidered his plan to practice dancing with his sister-in-law when he saw the disappointment on Anna's face when he told her he wouldn't be able to spend the day with her as planned. But (again, likely because she had anticipated his reaction), Elsa had only sent him his invitation to the ball this morning, two days in advance, and there was no way Hans was willing to embarrass himself in front of Arendelle's court. Or Anna. So he carefully avoided answering Anna's questions about what he would be doing, then snuck back to the ballroom where Joan was waiting for him with a knowing smile.

Despite being close to the same age, Joan acted at best like an older sister to him. Sometimes, she was outright motherly. Though Hans would never admit it, he actually enjoyed the experience. His actual mother had certainly never been very motherly, and the royal nursemaid had been discouraged from encouraging him since he was the 13th son. She gave him a warm hug as he came into the ballroom and he hugged her back tightly.

Joan got them down to work immediately. She gestured for Hans to start, so he stepped back and bowed formally before offering her his arm. Joan curtsied in return and took it. She started humming to provide the music, and Hans led her off into a typical waltz.

It wasn't until their third turn around the dance floor that Hans began to feel comfortable again. He stopped focusing on where his feet were and where they were in the room, and starting focusing on more intricate dance steps such as spins and dips.

"That's better!" exclaimed Joan with a smile as he passed her hand behind his back while turning himself, "Now you're starting to relax. No more of that stiff board I first started dancing with." She smiled to take any sting out of her words.

Hans smiled warmly in return and responded by spinning Joan in a tight circle before twirling her into his arms and dipping her backwards. Joan let out a small laugh of surprise and stopped singing. Hans straightened up and bowed to her again, "Thank you for the dance my lady."

Joan swatted him lightly on the arm, "And now you'll have to find 'your lady' a chair until I get my breath back!"

Obligingly, Hans retrieved a couple of chairs for a corner of the ballroom and sat with Joan. "Thank you," he said fervently, though slightly out of breath, "At least now I don't have to worry about making a fool of myself while dancing at the ball."

Joan gave him a speculative look, "I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell Niels."

Hans cocked his head in curiosity, "Alright. What's your secret?"

She glanced quickly around the room to make sure they were alone before leaning in conspiratorially and whispering, "I've had more fun dancing here with you than I will at the ball with Niels."

Hans rocked back with a shocked laugh, "Wait, what? Don't you like dancing with Niels?"

"Well, yes and no," said Joan, leaning back in her chair to get more comfortable, "He is a competent dancer, but he's also a boring dancer."

Brow furrowed, Hans asked, "How can someone be a boring dancer?"

"Because he's so focused on not making a mistake that all he does is follow the basic pattern as we travel around the room," Joan sighed, "Don't get me wrong, it's great if you want to _talk._ But it's incredibly boring if you want to _dance_."

"You have to let me tell him!" insisted Hans, "Just this morning he was mocking me for not being as good as Malcolm and Duncan and half of our other brothers. Please?"

"No!" protested Joan, "You promised!"

Hans huffed in mock annoyance, "Fine."

They sat in a companionable silence for a little while, then Hans stood abruptly. He extended his hand palm up to Joan, "While, if the ball is going to be a bore for you, I can at least repay you for your help by making today fun."

Joan took his hand and stood, "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

Hans smiled broadly, "You'll see. And this time, _I_ will do the singing." With that, Hans started humming a bright, lively tune and stepped off to a quick trot, spinning and twilling Joan around the room. Joan leaned her head back and laughed in delight. When they came to a twirling stop, both Hans and Joan were out of breath.

"Well," said Hans, "Are you paid in full for your services?"

Joan curtsied deeply, "I am good sir. Do you still want to practice again tomorrow?"

Hans nodded, "Please. I'd like to run through some formal quadrilles and such to make sure I remember all the steps."

Joan smiled mischievously, "Excellent. Another day of good dancing before the ball."

"Perhaps you'll save me a dance at the ball?" Hans suggested, "Then I can show Niels how it's done."

Joan laughed, "Perhaps not. I wouldn't want to make my husband feel threatened by his younger brother. This will just be our secret."

"Our secret it is," Hans agreed with a smile.


	29. Arendelle's Ball

"Her Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Her Royal Highness, Princess Anna of Arendelle. Their royal guests, Prince Niels and Duchess Joan and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles!" called the formal announcement heralding the arrival of the main guests of the ball.

Hans filed out onto the dais behind Niels and Joan and waited his turn to be greeted by Elsa and Anna. He bowed respectfully, and Elsa raised him, then gestured for the music to resume. It was surprisingly short and painless. Though Hans didn't have much time to dwell on it as Anna almost immediately sidled up to him and nudged him gently in hint.

Smiling in amusement, Hans turned to her, "Would you like to dance your highness?" he asked.

Anna smiled radiantly, "I would love to."

They danced around the room for five consecutive songs before Anna dragged him over to the refreshment tables to get some chocolate. Hans had to admit it was wonderful to taste the smooth, velvety dessert again.

Anna was jabbering excitedly while Hans gently pulled her hand to guide her out onto the balcony for some fresh air.

"…And then I was thinking that we could have a picnic," said Anna excitedly as the door swung closed behind them, "We could go out in the forrest to get away from the walls and–"

Hans' fingers brushed softly across her mouth, silencing her. "Can't we just enjoy the moment?" Hans asked. At Anna's look of confusion, he elaborated, "Right here, right now. We're at a ball together. We get to dance and visit and relax out here on the balcony under this beautiful velvet sky…" Hans leaned on the railing and trailed off as his eyes roamed the horizon.

"It is pretty," said Anna somewhat stiffly, "I'm just looking forward to all the things we can do together now."

Hans turned back with a small frown on his face, "Without enjoying even one of them."

Anna recoiled as though he had slapped her, "Wait, what?"

Hans pushed off the railing hard and started to pace, "Don't misunderstand me Anna, I've enjoyed every minute of the time that we've spent together, but it seems as though you're always looking to the next thing." He stopped and waved his hands in exasperation, "It's like you've got this mental list of all the things that we should be doing because we're in a relationship. The problem is, we're not." He took two quick steps to bring himself right up in front of her and saw her sharp intake of breath as he grabbed her by the shoulders to make sure she was listening, "Anna, I meant it when I said it was okay if you don't love me. But it's like you're trying to convince yourself that you do, and that does hurt."

Anna tried to raise her hands in protest, but Hans' grip was too firm, "No!" she said, "Of course I lov–"

This time Hans' hand was firmly clapped over her mouth to cut her off. "Don't say it," he said, his voice low and strained, "Don't say you love me. You don't know what love is." He dropped both hands and stepped backwards and away from her. "You're not in love with me, you're in love with the idea of love," his voice cracked with pain and Hans had to clear his throat before speaking again. Anna just stared at him, dumbfounded. "I'll be leaving in the morning."

Shocked out of her stupor, Anna jerked forward and grabbed Hans' hand, he flinched, but didn't pull away. "No! You can't do that!"

Hans just looked at her sadly, "Yes I can. I've been thinking about it for a while." He hesitated slightly, then lifted his free hand to brush his fingers down her cheek, "I need to know who I am. I've defined myself by my search for power for so long that I don't know what's left, and I need to find out before I can commit to anyone or anything." When Anna opened her mouth to reply, he moved his hand over to place two fingers gently on her lips. "I have to do this by myself. And evidently you need to do the same." Hans lifted Anna's hand that was still holding his to his lips and gave it a soft kiss, never taking his eyes off her face. He did his best to ignore the tears swimming in Anna's eyes as he let go and walked away.


	30. Alone

**/* Author's Note - Partly because of the unusually long delay between updates, partly because these chapters are a bit shorter, and partly because I know I've left Anna and Hans in a rather unhappy situation, I will be uploading the next few chapters a bit more quickly. Enjoy! :) */**

**Not sure what happened, but my upload had the wrong word count, so I've fixed it. Not quite sure what was missing.**

* * *

Anna had been so shocked by Hans' actions that she had been unable to pull herself together to stop him from leaving her on the balcony until it was too late. When she reentered the ballroom – with her emotions barely under control – there was no sign of him. She contemplated asking Elsa as she knew he would have had to seek her permission to leave early, but Anna was sure that if she tried to talk she would start crying, so instead she followed the quickest route out to the hallway, ignoring the voices that tried to get her attention as she passed.

From there, Anna went straight to her room. She paced like a caged animal, trying to figure out what to do. It was difficult for her to focus as she kept wondering why she hadn't seen this coming. Why she couldn't have just enjoyed the moment. If Hans was right that she was simply in love with the idea of love. After an hour of anxious pacing, Anna collapsed exhausted into a chair. She felt the tears she had been holding back start to slide down her cheeks and drip onto her dress. She curled up into a miserable little ball and was ready to give in completely when something caught her eye.

Opposite the chair in which Anna had collapsed was a small table with various trinkets scattered on it. Right in the middle, centred in Anna's vision, was a gift from Elsa. It was an intricate knotted ice sculpture that Elsa had made and given to her immediately after the events of her coronation. Her words echoed now in Anna's head, _'Because no matter how complicated things may seem, you can always see through them to the most important thing – love. You are strong, courageous, and trusting. You were always there for me, I just wish I had realized how much I need you sooner.'_

Anna sat bolt upright. _You are strong._ Anna stood from her chair and crossed to pick up the sculpture. _Courageous._ She gentle followed the criss-crossing lines with her finger. _Trusting._ Her hand froze. _You were always there for me._ She straightened to her full height and squared her shoulders. "Hans," she said determinedly, "I am here for you. And I will help you find yourself, even if you don't realize you need me."

Not wanting to risk missing him, Anna decided not to go to bed. Instead she kicked off her shoes, crossed the room to her desk and pulled out paper and pen to make a list of what she needed to pack.

Anna jerked awake at the sound of a knock on her door. She reached up to rub her neck where she had developed a crick from falling asleep on her desk. "Princess Anna," called Gerda, "Are you up yet?"

Groggy, it took a moment for the words to register. The instant she recognized the word yet, Anna jumped to her feet, knocking her chair over, "Yet?" she exclaimed, "What time is it?"

Not bothering to listen to the answer, Anna ran to her window and looked out: the sun was high, the morning was nearly over. Suddenly panicked, Anna ignored her messy hair, crumpled ball gown and lack of shoes to bolt across the room and out the door. She swung her head from side to side, ignoring Gerda's startled reaction, then decided to head straight to the stables and dashed down the hallway to her right.

She jumped onto the banister and slid to the bottom of the stairs. She stumbled slightly on landing, but didn't stop, instead using the moment to launch herself into a faster run. Anna burst out the castle doors and across the courtyard. She pushed the stable door open and it banged against the wall before swinging back and narrowly missing her.

A stable boy jerked awake and jumped out of the hay pile where he had been napping, "Your– your highness!" he stuttered as he dropped into a quick bow, "Can I help you?"

"Hans– horse–," Anna panted, "Where– is– he?"

The boys eyes were wide and startled, "Didn't your highness know?" he asked, "Prince Hans left this morning at first light. He's been gone five hours."

"No-" gasped Anna. She spun around and stumbled out of the stable. Despite knowing it was pointless, Anna scanned the courtyard for some sign of Hans. Seeing nothing, she started towards the main gate, picking up speed with each step.

Stares and whispers followed her, though Anna was barely aware of them. One maid let out a startled shriek and dropped the basket of linens she was carrying as Anna dashed in front of her. Not stopping, Anna raced out the gate and onto the bridge. Halfway across she stumbled to a halt.

There were no horses anywhere in sight, and Anna didn't even know what direction he had taken. "Hans…" she whispered as she sank down onto the cobblestones. _What have I done?_


	31. Isolation

**/* Author's note - Aren't you glad I'm updating daily right now? ;) */**

* * *

Anna was barely aware of the passing of time for the next few days. She stayed in her room and refused to eat or allow anyone in to see her. She tried hard not to sleep as her dreams were filled with dark, empty corridors. There were no windows or doors, just an unending hallway that went nowhere. Instead, Anna spent hours staring at the wall, trying hard not to think about how she had pushed Hans away just as she finally had the chance to really get to know him. Elsa was wrong, she wasn't strong.

"Enough Anna!" The door bounced off the wall with an explosive crash and Elsa came storming in. The air temperature literally dropped as she crossed the room to Anna's bed with little trails of ice and snow forming in her wake.

Anna couldn't muster the emotion to even glare, so instead she just rolled over and away from her sister. She flinched at the icy cold feel of Elsa's bare hand on her skin and tried to pull away, but Elsa tightened her grip and rolled her back over. Anna looked up to meet her eyes and gasped aloud at the dark, angry look that she saw there.

"It's been three days since that ball and you haven't even moved from your bed!" Elsa reached across her to grab Anna's other arm and shook her slightly, "This is absurd! Get up!"

Anna lowered her eyes without replying.

A growl of frustration escaped Elsa as she released Anna and pushed hard to straighten up again. "Hans was right!" she spat. Anna turned hurt eyes on Elsa and tears leaked out the corners. "You have no idea what love is! You're so busy being in love with the idea of love that you have no idea how to appreciate the reality that surrounds you!"

Finally piqued, Anna sat up and glared at Elsa, "You have no idea–"

Elsa cut her off with a sharp gesture. "Enough!" she barked, "Pack your bags Anna, you're leaving in the morning."

"Wait, what?" Anna scrambled to edge of her bed and jumped to her feet where she nearly collapsed. She forced herself back up and stepped away from her support in an effort to look strong and in control, "You're kicking me out of my own home?!"

Elsa had started to walk out of the room, but she stopped and turned back around to give Anna a disgusted look. "Don't be absurd," she said, "As your sister who loves you, I'm not going to sit around and enable you in wallowing in your own misery. There are trade negotiations to finish with the Earl of Boxindale, and he had to return to his lands. You're going to finish what you started."

"The Earl of Boxindale?" asked Anna incredulously, "But you're back now. Why didn't you finish the arrangements? I'm not going." She turned her back petulantly, trying to hide the fact that she needed the support of her bed to stay standing. She wasn't sure when she had last eaten, but she was feeling very light headed.

Elsa's arm encircled Anna's shoulders and she guided her back onto the bed. "Look at you Anna!" said Elsa, "You've let yourself fall apart. For what? It's time you stopped looking for things you think you _should_ have and start appreciating the things that you _do_ have." She shook her sister again, but this time more gently, "I love you Anna. And the truth is, you're good at this. You're open, honest, and accepting of everyone. Those traits make you an excellent ambassador for Arnedelle. I _need_ you." Elsa sat down beside her and twisted to face her, "More than that, _you_ need this. You need to find and accept yourself." She shrugged helplessly, "You obviously can't do that here, so yes, I'm sending you away."

Anna looked away and frowned at her bed, "Yeah right. You just want to deal with me. Just like when we were little."

Elsa stood up, clearly stung, "Think what you want Anna, but I am doing this for your own good. You _are_ leaving on that ship in the morning. So I suggest you pack, because otherwise you'll be going with only the clothes on your back."

Anna stared after her in shock as Elsa swept across the room and slammed the door behind her.


	32. Ambassador

**/* Author's note - I wasn't going to post another chapter until tomorrow, but in writing I'm about four chapters ahead and I'm really excited about where the story is there. And since I know that you're reading this story because you want to see Hans and Anna together, I figured I might as well let you get there a bit sooner. It's still a few chapters away, but I created the delay so they could both have the chance to be happy by themselves first. This way they will be capable of having a much more fulfilling relationship together. I'll post another one tomorrow. Maybe two. We'll see. :) */**

* * *

Dawn of the next morning found Anna standing on the deck of the royal ship, watching as her trunks were stowed in the state cabin. She felt much better after having had a decent meal, doing a bit of her own raging (which involved a lot of yelling and throwing things) and getting some friendly interference from Olaf (who had come to investigate the noise). Anna realized that Elsa and Hans were right: it was long past time for her to grow up and find herself. After all, she still had her whole life ahead, what was she going to use it for?

So she had stayed awake the entire night, using the list she had previously compiled when she planned to accompany Hans to pack her things for her morning departure. As she took a last look at Arendelle in the sleepy morning, she ached to think of the time she had wasted and how foolish she had been about Hans, but Anna couldn't suppress the thrill of excitement that shot through her as the pilot ship guided them out of the harbour and they began the journey to Boxindale. This was what she had wanted before she got so caught up with the chance of finding true love – the chance to be free. To meet new people and go to new places.

A blush crept up her cheeks as she glanced back over her shoulder towards Arendelle. Out of anger, Anna had refused to say goodbye to Elsa before leaving, and she had no idea when she would be back. It had only been an hour since she missed her chance, but she could already feel how petty she had been. A letter home to apologize and thank Elsa for pushing her back onto her feet was in order, so Anna turned and descended to her state cabin so it would be ready to send as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Two weeks later, Anna arrived in Boxindale and resumed the trade negotiations with the Earl. It was just as they were finalizing their agreement that Anna made her decision.

The Earl was stooped over the table pressing his signet into the hot wax that he had just poured onto the parchment detailing their arrangement. He picked up a quill to add his signature, then stopped abruptly and straightened, "I've just realized, if we are going to include this final part about taxes on goods, you should really have a formal agreement with Weselton as well."

Anna frowned, "Arendelle does not do business with murderers and plunderers." She gestured towards the contract the Earl was signing, "Nothing in here would impact his duchy."

He blinked in momentary surprise. "His? Haven't you heard?" asked the Earl, "The duke died over four months ago now. He never did marry or have children, so his sister's oldest daughter inherited the duchy. It would be an excellent opportunity for you to reopen trade with Weselton."

Anna contemplated the idea while the Earl finished signing the paperwork. The opportunity really was perfect. Weselton had many things to offer in trade, and the new duchess could potentially be a more desirable partner than her uncle. The only way to find out was to go and meet her. Anna nodded decisively, "Thank you Earl, both for this agreement and the information about Weselton. If it is acceptable to you, I will take my leave as soon as my ship is outfitted and ready for travel."

"Again the decision is yours Your Highness," replied the Earl, "But it would be faster to reach Weselton overland from here." He bowed deeply, "I put my horses and carriage at your disposal."

"Thank you. I'll let you know my decision in the morning." Anna inclined her head and left.

"What do you think Elin?" asked Anna later that evening in the privacy of her chambers, "Do you think Elsa would approve?"

Elin paused in her packing of Anna's belongings. Though she appeared to be and acted as the princess' lady-in-waiting, she was actually there as an advisor to help Anna in her negotiations. "I think that the Queen would trust your judgement Your Highness. What do you think you should do?"

Anna sighed and slumped back in her chair, "I think I should go."

"But you don't want to?" guessed Elin.

Anna shook her head slowly, "No, that isn't it." She stared out the window in silence. Elin resumed her packing. Anna sighed again and shifted her gaze back to Elin, "I want to go. But I also miss Elsa. And Arendelle. Yet…" she trailed off.

"Yet what, Your Highness?"

The look Anna gave Elin was slightly guilty, "I _love_ being out here. Negotiating. It's incredible. I'm actually doing something worthwhile. Something that only I can do. Part of me never wants to go home. I can't see how I could enjoy this thrill when I'm stuck in Arendelle." She looked down at her lap, "Is that wrong?"

Elin laughed aloud and Anna jumped in surprise, "Not at all, Your Highness. You sound like any normal person who just discovered something that they're good at and enjoy. You can send an express back to Arendelle with your report. Send the royal ship back as well. Take the Earl's offer of horses and carriage and travel to Weselton. I'm sure the Queen will respond with her instructions before any finalized agreement would be ready." Elin stepped to Anna's side and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Enjoy yourself, Your Highness. Your sister will be delighted to hear of it."

Anna smiled.


	33. Travel

What had been originally planned as a two month voyage to Boxindale and back quickly stretched into eight months while Anna traveled from place to place. She refined existing agreements, brokered new ones, and on one occasion was forced to create and enforce a ban when she discovered that one of their allies was engaged in slave trade. Anna thrilled to see so many different lands. Aside from Boxindale and Weselton, her negotiations took her to Tanska, Corona, and Gatineau. For the first time in her life, Anna found people with whom she could relate and form genuine friendships. Her favourite was the quirky princess of Corona, though she still thought her friend's habit of going without shoes at all times was a bit strange.

It wasn't until the ball in Gatineau celebrating their new trade agreement that Anna realized just how much of an impact the months away from home had had on her and what she wanted from life.

"You are an excellent dancer my lady," said Prince Pierre, the heir to the kingdom of Gatineau, as he twirled her across the dance floor. The music came to an end and he released her to bow. Anna curtsied in return. "May I make a suggestion princess?"

Anna shook her head in mock disapproval, "I think it's rather late for that since the trade deal was signed and sealed this morning."

Pierre laughed, "You have a delightful sense of humour! No, I meant a more personal suggestion. I was wondering if you would consider extending your stay for a few more weeks to discuss a different arrangement."

Anna raised her eyebrows and followed the prince off the dance floor and over to the refreshments. He handed her a glass of wine which she graciously accepted. "What sort of arrangement do you have in mind?" she asked, sipping from her glass.

"I was thinking a more… intimate one," said Pierre, "Surely Arendelle would be interested in forming familial ties with a strong neighbour."

Anna placed her glass of wine back down onto the table and turned partially away from Pierre with a frown, "The Queen of Arendelle is not looking to form any such arrangements at this time."

"I'm not interested in Arendelle's queen," said Pierre softly as he reached out and gently took Anna's now free hand, "I'm interested in Arendelle's princess."

Honestly shocked, Anna turned back to Pierre. "Me?" she exclaimed.

Pierre nodded, "I've watched you for the past two months while we've been negotiating. You would make an excellent queen, and I'm sure having Gatineau as a secure ally would be of worth to Arendelle."

Anna pulled her hand away. "You must be joking," she said, "We hardly know each other. And I am not looking to get married right now."

"And why not?" asked Pierre, somewhat impatiently, "Most princesses have their first child at your age! You can't run around playing the ambassador forever you know."

Her expression wintry, Anna glared at Pierre. "Just because other princesses are married does not mean that I have to be. And I am not _playing_ at anything. I am Arendelle's ambassador and I will be continue to be Arendelle's ambassador for as long as _I_ chose!" Her voice rose and the nearby guests turned to look at her in shock. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do in order to ensure that my ship is ready to sail in the morning." Ignoring the whispering that broke out behind her, Anna swept regally from the hall, though her exit was ruined by her tripping on her own feet. Thankfully, she only stumbled without falling.

Back in her chambers, Anna paced in agitation, "Do you think I was wrong Elin? Should I have accepted? Is that what I'm supposed to do?"

Elin blew on the wax she had used to seal Anna's instructions to her ship's captain. She opened the door and handed it to the page outside with instructions to run it down to the docks immediately. He bowed and left. Elin closed the door and gave Anna a stern look, "Don't be absurd Your Highness. The Queen would fully support your actions. You have that option, so when you marry, let it be for love."

Anna shook her head. "But I don't want to marry anymore," she said in bewilderment as an image of Hans flashed in front of her eyes, "I just started to think about it when Prince Pierre said I couldn't be an ambassador forever. I _like_ this. If I marry, I'll have to give that all up." The look in her eyes was tormented, "I finally know who I am, and I'm _happy_. I don't want to lose that."

Elin smiled tolerantly, "First Your Highness, when you truly fall in love, you will be willing to give up anything for that man. And second, you won't have to." At Anna's confused look, she elaborated, "If he loves you, he won't try to take away what makes you happy. I presume you don't realize that I am married Your Highness?"

"You are?" gasped Anna in surprise.

"Of course," said Elin, "But that doesn't stop me from serving as an advisor to Arendelle. Usually my husband comes with me on the longer trips, but this one wasn't exactly planned."

Anna was horrified, "I so sorry! I didn't even consider that you might have a family back in Arendelle! Why didn't you tell me? I've kept you away from them for so long!" She groaned in realization, "And I've already sent a message to Svetlend to expect me! You must feel free to go home," she insisted.

Elin's eyes narrowed, "I'm doing my duty, Your Highness. There is nothing wrong in that. My husband knows this happens. The fact is, he's an ice cutter, so he's likely spent most of the time busy up in the mountains anyways."

"Are you sure?" Anna asked nervously.

"Quite sure Your Highness," Elin replied firmly, "Now, if you'll kindly get out of that gown, we can both get some sleep so we'll be ready for the dawn departure that you ordered."


End file.
